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2023-06-13 - AGENDA REPORTS - TRANSIT 2023 TITLE VI FED NONDISCIMINATION PGM
Agenda Item: 15 1. CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT CONSENT CALENDAR CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: TAA,/� DATE: June 13, 2023 SUBJECT: CITY OF SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT 2023 TITLE VI FEDERAL NONDISCRIMINATION PROGRAM DEPARTMENT: Economic Development PRESENTER: Adrian Aguilar RECOMMENDED ACTION City Council approve the City of Santa Clarita Transit 2023 Federal Title VI Nondiscrimination Program and authorize staff to amend the program as needed. BACKGROUND Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs that receive federal funding. The Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) is tasked with ensuring nondiscriminatory transportation practices are upheld by all transit agencies that receive federal funds. The City of Santa Clarita (City) Transit operates, in part, using federal dollars. As such, the FTA requires that the City demonstrate compliance with Title VI by submitting an updated Title VI Federal Nondiscrimination Program (Program) every three years. The last Program was approved by the City Council in November 2020. Section 601 of Title VI states the following: No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. The Program consists of a report and supporting documentation that provides evidence of the equitable distribution of services; promotion of full and fair participation in public transportation decision -making without regard to race, color, or national origin; and meaningful access to transit -related programs and activities by persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). The Program also outlines procedures in place for the public to file a Title VI complaint and monitors Page 1 Packet Pg. 169 service delivery, specifically concerning low-income, minority, and LEP populations. The current Program is available for public review on the Santa Clarita Transit website. While no major programmatic changes have been made, this update addresses ridership, fleet, and service -area changes made over the last three years. The update also confirms that Santa Clarita Transit routes continue to cover nearly all areas of the Santa Clarita Valley, with the most productive lines being those that serve communities with high LEP and minority populations. Upon City Council approval, the 2023 Title VI Federal Nondiscrimination Program will be submitted to the FTA for review. After their review, the FTA will either concur with the updated Title VI Program or request additional information. Failure to submit an updated Title VI Program could result in the loss of federal funding. ALTERNATIVE ACTION Other action as determined by the City Council. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact related to the approval of the updated 2023 Title VI Program. ATTACHMENTS Title VI 2023 Update with Appendices (available in the City Clerk's Reading File) Page 2 Packet Pg. 170 City y 11"ITAySANTA • ■ TITLE VI PROGRAM UPDATE May 2023 Prepared by: City of Santa Clarita, California 23920 Valencia Blvd. Suite 300 Santa Clarita, California 91355 c`t'' of SANTA CLARITA ) TRANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 TITLE VI of the Civil rights act of 1964.................................................................................................................1 1.2 SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT................................................................................................................................I SantaClarita Transit Local Map......................................................................................................................................2 SantaClarita Transit Commuter Map..............................................................................................................................3 CHAPTER 2: GENERAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS............................................................................... 3 2.1 TITLE VI NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 SCT TITLE VI COMPLAINT FORM AND PROCEDURES...............................................................................5 2.3 TITLE VI INVESTIGATIONS, COMPLAINTS AND LAWSUITS.....................................................................8 2.4 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN.........................................................................................................................8 2.5 LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY PLAN (LEP).............................................................................................9 2.6 MINORITY REPRESENTATION ON PLANNING AND ADVISORY BODIES.............................................10 2.7 MONITORING OF SUBRECIPIENTS AND CONTRACTORS........................................................................10 2.8 FIXED FACILITY IMPACT ANALYSIS............................................................................................................ I I CHAPTER 3: SERVICE STANDARDS AND POLICIES................................................................................. 11 3.1 MAJOR SERVICE/FARE CHANGE POLICY....................................................................................................11 3.2 DISPARATE AND DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT THRESHOLD...............................................................12 3.3 SERVICE EQUITY ANALYSIS..........................................................................................................................12 3.4 SERVICE STANDARDS......................................................................................................................................12 VehicleLoad..................................................................................................................................................................12 VehicleHeadway...........................................................................................................................................................13 On -Time Performance...................................................................................................................................................14 ServiceAvailability.......................................................................................................................................................14 3.5 SERVICE POLICIES............................................................................................................................................15 VehicleAssignment.......................................................................................................................................................15 TransitAmenities...........................................................................................................................................................16 CHAPTER 4: DEMOGRAPHIC AND SERVICE PROFILE MAPS & CHARTS ............................................. 16 4.1 MINORITY CHARACTERISTICS......................................................................................................................16 4.2 INCOME CHARACTERISTICS..........................................................................................................................17 4.3 DEMOGRAPHIC RIDERSHIP AND TRAVEL PATTERNS COLLECTED BY SURVEYS ...........................17 4.4 MONITORING TRANSIT SERVICE..................................................................................................................18 City ofSANTA CLARITA rT`RANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................................... 19 APPENDICES...................................................................................................................................................... 20 APPENDIX A - 2023 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN APPENDIX B - 2023 SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY PLAN APPENDIX C - 2023 MINORITY DEMOGRAPHIC MAP APPENDIX D - 2023 LOW-INCOME DEMOGRAPHIC MAP APPENDIX E - 2023 MINORITY AND LOW INCOME CENSUS TRACT DATA APPENDIX F - TITLE VI INVESTIGATIONS, LAWSUITS, AND COMPLAINTS APPENDIX G - TITLE VI CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM City ofSANTA CLARITA rT`RANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTSACT OF 1964 Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs that receive federal funding. The Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) requires transportation agencies to demonstrate compliance with Title VI by submitting a Title VI Plan Update every three years. City Council must review and approve the Title VI Plan Update prior to its submittal. Section 601 of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states the following: No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. The 2023 Title VI Program represents an update of the council approved 2020 Title VI Program. It consists of a report and supporting documentation that provides evidence of the equitable distribution of services; promotion of full and fair participation in public transportation decision - making without regard to race, color, or national origin, and meaningful access to transit -related programs and activities by persons with limited English proficiency. FTA reviews and concurs with the Title VI plan update or requests additional information. Failure to submit a Title VI plan update or to have a Title VI Plan Update approved by City Council and the FTA could result in the loss of Federal funding. 1.2 SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT The City of Santa Clarita Transit began operating local bus service on August 5, 1991, assuming responsibility for local transit operations from the County of Los Angeles as Santa Clarita Transit. The City provides supervision over a contract operator responsible for all transit operating and maintenance related services including: local, commuter, GO! Santa Clarita, Dial - A -Ride, and Access Services. Santa Clarita Transit began with 300,000 riders, 8 fixed local routes and 13 vehicles. By November 1991, the City began providing Dial -A -Ride services. Soon after, the City began operating commuter service to Downtown Los Angeles, UCLA, Century City, Westwood, and the San Fernando Valley. Each year, the Santa Clarita Valley continues to grow as new residents and businesses relocate to the region. In keeping with this growth, the City of Santa Clarita Transit has expanded its services to include nine local fixed routes within the Santa Clarita Valley and seven commuter routes linking Santa Clarita and downtown Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, Warner Center and North Hollywood. Santa Clarita Transit's total fleet is comprised of 54 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, 1 CNG trolley, 1 diesel trolley, 7 diesel and 23 CNG commuter buses, and 33 demand response May 2023 11 P a g e City ofSANTA CLARITA rT`RANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 vehicles, including Dial -A -Ride, Access Services, and GO! Santa Clarita. Santa Clarita Transit operates 62 peak hour buses and provides low cost, easily accessible public transportation for approximately 9,574 patrons each week day. Additionally, Santa Clarita Transit operates paratransit services seven days a week for seniors over 60 and the disabled within the Santa Clarita Valley, as well as the general public during evening hours. Our 119-vehicle fleet provides service to nearly two million riders annually, according to data from 2021-2022. Santa Clarita Transit Local! ap May 2023 2 1 P a g e c"'' of SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 Santa Clarita Transit Commuter Man F` SANTA C:I.ARITA SANTA CLARITA VALLEY spy°� IIAOP►;� 0 f VO► 4r� a<� 757 �9 �T HOL YWOOD 796 791 NOHO METRO ORANGE LIQ STATION CHATSWO RTH VAN NUYS CANOGA PARK RESEDA p WARNER CENTER 9p[5N IVERSAL CITY WOODLAND HILLS ENCINO HOLLY WOOD 797 a1v?0,vLiUTiE 792 WESTWOODIUCLA WILSHIREJ o CENTURYCITY WESTERN c s M EXPO LINE 7THI CULVER CITY EXPOSITION METRO PARK STATION LAX METROGREENLINE o LSE01400 REDONDO BEACH LONG BEACH BOB HOPE AIRPORT BURBANK Z::L*d!a D!s GLENDALE 01; PASADENA EAGLE ROCK UNION STATION DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES NORWALK CHAPTER 2: GENERAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS The FTA requires that Santa Clarita Transit provide information to the public regarding the recipient's obligations under the Department of Transportation's Title VI regulations and explain to members of the public of their protections against discrimination afforded to them by Title VI. 2.1 TITLE VI NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC The following notice is printed on all Santa Clarita Transit brochures for routes and schedules, and is stated on the Santa Clarita Transit websitei. This notice can also be found on all buses and vehicles utilized by Sana Clarita Transit and is posted publicly in the lobby of the Transit Maintenance Facility. 1 hU://www.santaclaritatransit.com/about-us/title-vi-civil-rights l�policy/ May 2023 3 1 P a g e City of SANTA GLARITA 'TRANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 Title VI — Civil Rights Policy The City of Santa Clarita operates its programs without regard to race, color, and national origin in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Any person who believes she or he has been aggrieved by any unlawful discriminatory practice under Title VI may file a complaint with the City of Santa Clarita. If you believe you have been discriminated against, you may file a signed, written complaint within one hundred and eighty (180) days of the date of alleged discrimination. The complaint should include the following information: • Your name, address, and how to contact you (i.e., telephone number, email address, etc.) • How, when, where, and why you believe you were discriminated against. Include the location, names, and contact information of any witnesses. The complaint may be filed in writing with the City of Santa Clarita at: City of Santa Clarita 28250 Constellation Road Santa Clarita, CA 91355 Printable Form: Title VI Complaint Form (PDF) Email: City of Santa Clarita Telephone: 661-295-6300 Hearing Impaired: 661-295-6382 If information is needed in another language contact, 661-295-6300. Para mas informacion en Espanol [lame al 661-295-6300, oprima el numero 1. The "Title VI Complaint Form" may be used to detail the complaint, but is not mandatory. Complaint forms may also be obtained by calling 661-295-6300. The City of Santa Clarita will provide appropriate assistance to complainants who are limited in their ability to communicate in English. In addition to the Title VI complaint process at the City of Santa Clarita, a complainant may file a Title VI complaint with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Office of Civil Rights, Region IX, 201 Mission Street, Suite 1650, San Francisco, California 94105- 1839. The FTA's complaint procedure is contained in the FTA Circular C4702.1A. May 2023 4 1 P a g e City ofSANTA CLARITA rT`RANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 2.2 SCT TITLE VI NON-DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT FORM AND PROCEDURES The following complaint form is available by e-mail, in print on request, and by PDF download on the Santa Clarita Transit website. City of SANTA GLARITA TRANSIT TITLE VI NON-DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT FORM Any person who believes she or he has been discriminated against on the basis of race, color, or national origin by the City of Santa Clarita Transit (hereinafter referred to as "SCT") may file a Title VI complaint by completing and submitting the agency's Title VI Complaint Form. SCT investigates complaints received no more than 180 days after the alleged incident. SCT will process complaints that are complete. Once the complaint is received, SCT will review it to determine if our office has jurisdiction. The complainant will receive an acknowledgement letter informing her/him whether the complaint will be investigated by our office. SCT has 90 days to investigate the complaint. If more information is needed to resolve the case, SCT may contact the complainant. The complainant has 15 business days from the date of the letter to send requested information to the investigator assigned to the case. If the investigator is not contacted by the complainant or does not receive the additional information within 60 business days, SCT can administratively close the case. A case can be administratively closed also if the complainant no longer wishes to pursue their case. After the investigator reviews the complaint, she/he will issue one of two letters to the complainant: a closure letter or a letter of finding (LOF). A closure letter summarizes the allegations and states that there was not a Title VI violation and that the case will be closed. An LOF summarizes the allegations and the interviews regarding the alleged incident, and explains whether any disciplinary action, additional training of the staff member or other action will occur. If the complainant wishes to appeal the decision, she/he has 15 business days after the date of the letter or the LOF to do so. A person may also file a complaint directly with the Federal Transit Administration, at FTA Office of Civil Rights, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. May 2023 5 1 P a g e c`t'' of SANTA CLARITA ) TRANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 Q) Cityof NT LAR11A TRANSIT Title VI Complaint Form Pri nt Form 213250 Constellation Rd 001-294-1287 Tel Santa Clanta, CA 91356 www.santadantatransit.mm Title VI cf the 1964 Civil Rights Act and related nondiscrimination statues and regulations require that no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. The following information is necessary to assist us in processing your complaint. Should you require any assistance in completing this form, please let us know_ Complete and return this form to the City of Santa Clarita. Transit Division: 28250 Constellation Rd Santa Clarita. CA 91355 1. Complainant's Name 2_ Address 3. 4. 5. City State Telephone Number (home) (business)_ Person discriminated against (if someone other than the complainant) Name Address city Zip Code State Zip Code 6. 'Which of the following best describes the reason you believe the discrimination took place? Was it because of your: a. RacelColor ❑ C. Sex ❑ C. Disability ❑ b. National Origin ❑ d. ,age ❑ 7. What elate did the alleged discrimination take place? May 2023 6 1 P a g e c`t'' of SANTA CLARITA ) TRANSIT Q) SANJA CLAR11A, 'T`RAN4IT Title VI Program Update May 2023 29250 Constellation Rd 851-294-1297 Tel Santa Clarila, CA 91355 www.santaclarilatransit:cnm B. In your own words, describe the alleged discrimination. Explain what happened and whom you believe was responsible. Please use the back of this form if additional space is required. 9. Have you filed this complaint with any other federal, state, or local agency; or with any federal or state court? ❑ Yes ❑ No If yes, check each box that applies: Federal agency 0 Federal court © State agency 0 State court ❑ Local agency 13 '10. Please provide information about a contact person at the agencylcourt where the complaint was filed. Name Address City Telephone Number State Zip Code '11. Please sign below. You may attach any written materials or other information that you think is relevant to your complaint. Complainant's Signature Date May 2023 7 1 P a g e City ofSANTA CLARITA rT`RANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 2.3 TITLE VI INVESTIGATIONS, COMPLAINTS AND LAWSUITS All transit recipients shall prepare and maintain a list on any of the following that allege discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin: • Active investigations conducted by the FTA and entities other than FTA; • Lawsuits; and • Complaints naming the City of Santa Clarita Transit. This list shall include the date that the transit -related Title VI investigation, lawsuit, or complaint was filed; a summary of the allegation(s); the status of the investigation, lawsuit, or complaint; and actions taken by the recipient in response, or final findings related to the investigation, lawsuit, or complaint. This list shall be included in Santa Clarita Transit's Title VI Program submitted to the FTA every three years. There are currently no active lawsuits or investigations against the City of Santa Clarita Transit alleging discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin arising from the service provided. Since the last Title VI Update, three (3) formal Title VI complaints were received. As shown in Appendix G, all complaints have been investigated and closed. 2.4 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN Under 49 USC Chapter 53, Section 5307, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requires "a locally developed process to consider public comment before raising a fare or carrying out a major reduction in transportation service". The public, as the primary customer and beneficiary of transit service, is provided the opportunity for input and review through the public engagement process. Actions such as the establishment of new service, fare adjustments, major modifications of existing service, and/or suspension or abandonment of any bus routes may include a formal process of review by SCT, including meaningful public engagement conducted by SCT staff. SCT uses a broad range of outreach tools documented in the Public Participation Plan (Appendix A) to serve this requirement. SCT is in communication with many organizations throughout the region and often attends meetings and events sponsored by these groups. These groups consistent of cultural organizations, the local senior center, City and County partners, business associations, and others vested in SCT's service area. In this arena we are able to create relevant conversations and dialogue between SCT and the specific community regarding transit needs. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SCT had stopped all in -person outreach events and activities. Since 2021 SCT's participation in such programs has continuously increased. The following is a list of public outreach and involvement activities between November 2020 and May 2023: October 14, 2021 — UCLA's 2021 Sustainable Transportation Fair December 4, 2021 — 140' Annual Family Literacy Festival May 20, 2022 — My Green Building Conference and Expo August 1, 2022 — La Mesa High School Registration Day May 2023 8 1 P a g e City ofSANTA CLARITA rT`RANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 August 2, 2022 — Golden Valley High School Registration Day; Sierra Vista Junior High School Registration Day; Castaic High School Registration Day August 3, 2022 — Saugus High School Registration Day; Valencia High School Registration Day; Hart High School Registration Day September 28, 2022 — Youth in Government October 6, 2022 — UCLA's 2022 Sustainable Transportation Fair November 5, 2022 — Santa Clarita Valley Education Foundation's 1st Annual Touch -a - Truck Event December 3, 2022 — 151 Annual Family Literacy Festival April 13, 2023 — La Mesa Junior High School Resource Fair May 10, 2023 — Caregiver Resource Day at the Santa Clarita Senior Center This list is not exhaustive regarding all activities and actions taken by SCT and their staff outside of regular bus services and routing. SCT participates in many monthly meetings across the City and the greater Southern California region to connect and share information with other transit agencies, riders, and the general public. Additionally, all of the special events planned and assisted by SCT like providing shuttle services for City events, transportation for annual events like Dodger Day, the Beach Bus summer trips, and many other events are also always used as opportunities for public outreach and communication with riders and the public. If special accommodations are desired at any public meeting held by SCT, the public can call SCT's Customer Service prior to the meeting to arrange the proper accommodations. SCT will provide Spanish translation and offer interpreters for other languages, including sign language, upon request. SCT selects meeting and hearing locations to provide reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Santa Clarita Transit public meetings are all wheelchair accessible and accessible via public transit. 2.5 LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY PLAN (LEP) Per Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) implementing regulations, and Executive Order 13166 "Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency (65 FR 50121, Aug. 11, 2000)", Santa Clarita Transit is federally mandated to develop and implement a Language Assistance Plan by which Limited English Proficiency (LEP) persons can meaningfully access translations of written and oral information. As such, SCT must take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to the benefits, services, information and other important portions of their programs and activities for LEP persons. Santa Clarita Transit's LEP plan is attached in Appendix B. The LEP documents the four -factor analysis completed to identify appropriate language assistance measures needed to improve access to SCT services and benefits for LEP persons. As a result of this analysis, it was determined that 11.5 percent of the population in SCT's service area has limited proficiency in the English language. The most predominate language spoken other than English, is Spanish with 14,024 residents indicating that they speak English "less than very well" (See Appendix B, B-3). May 2023 9 1 P a g e City ofSANTA CLARITA rT`RANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 To assist its Spanish speaking LEP patrons specifically, SCT has implemented the following measures: • Network with local human service organizations that provide services to LEP individuals and seek opportunities to provide information on Santa Clarita Transit programs and services. • Provide a bilingual staff member at all community events and public hearings • Provide translation of all transit flyers, alerts and notices to the public. • Include language that "Spanish is a plus" on bus driver recruitment flyers, social media and onboard recruitment posters. • Provide a Google Translate link for the transit website, fully translated in Spanish. • Bilingual customer service staff for both the contractor and City. • Use the services of a translation firm for customer calls on an as -needed basis. 2.6 MINORITY REPRESENTATION ON PLANNING AND ADVISORY BODIES The FTA states that a recipient may not, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, "deny a person the opportunity to participate as a member of a planning, advisory, or similar body which is an integral part of the program."2 Santa Clarita Transit established an Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC), comprised of interested members of the public for the purpose of giving input to Santa Clarita Transit, Access Services, Inc. and any other Santa Clarita Valley transit provider on the accessibility of its programs and services for people with disabilities and seniors. SCT created bylaws that define the name, purpose, structure, and operating guidelines for this committee.3 Currently, the AAC is comprised of four (4) members, with current recruitment efforts in effect. Active members include individuals from the senior and disabled community as well as local stakeholders and riders throughout the service area. When available, membership is solicited at public meetings/workshops, with an emphasis on diversity and transit use. Minority Representation Among SCT's Non -Elected Advisory Committee Total Non -Elected Asian/Pacific Black/African American Number of Advisory Ihspanic/Latino White Islander American Indian Sitting Committee Members Accessibility Advisory - 33% - - 67% 4 Committee 2.7 MONITORING OF SUBRECIPIENTS AND CONTRACTORS Santa Clarita Transit does not have any sub recipient providers. However, SCT does contract out their transit operations and maintenance to MV Transportation. As part of its efforts to ensure MV Transportation complies with the requirements of Title VI, SCT holds periodic meetings 2 FTA Title 49 CFR Section 21.5(b)(1)(vii) 3 hU://www.santaclaritatransit.com/services/dial-a-ride-asi/aac-bylaws May 2023 10 1 P a g e City ofSANTA CLARITA rT`RANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 with representatives from MV Transportation to discuss any Title VI issues that arise. SCT staff has briefed MV on their Title VI obligations and provided them with copies of the most recent Title VI circular from October 2012. They have agreed to abide by the Title VI requirements. 2.8 FIXED FACILITY IMPACT ANALYSIS Title VI requires a Fixed Facility (transit operations facility, yard, etc.) Impact Analysis for construction projects to assess any impacts to minority communities. If this information has been prepared as a result of an environmental impact statement, the application recipient, or sub recipient, should reference the relevant information by documenting page numbers and submission to the FTA. A Title VI Equity Analysis should also be conducted during the planning stages to assess where a project is located or sited to ensure the location is selected without regard to race, color, or national origin. Recipient shall engage in outreach to persons potentially impacted by the placement of facilities. The Title VI equity analysis must compare the equity impacts of various site alternatives, and the analysis must occur before the selection of the preferred site. Additionally, environmental justice principles as reflected in the DOT Order on Environmental Justice (DOT Order 5610.2(a)), address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low - Income Populations. The order describes the process the Department and its modal administrations (including FTA) use to incorporate environmental justice principles into programs, policies, and activities. As a result of FTA requirements, environmental impact analysis for fixed facilities shall include: • A Title VI Equity Analysis conducted during planning stages to assess if or how the location will impact minority communities and provides alternatives analysis. • A project history and background for each project or service plan within the document. • A discussion of the potential impacts on minority communities and minority -owned businesses during and after construction. • A discussion on all potential negative environmental impacts, such as traffic congestion, noise, air or water pollution. • A list of minority -owned businesses and household affected by construction projects. • A description of other significant impacts on minority communities, such as: increased traffic, reduction in parking availability, etc. and • A description of the relocation program and/or other measures adopted by the applicant used to mitigate identified adverse social, economic or environmental effects of the proposed construction project or service plan all of which should include an environmental justice component. CHAPTER 3: SERVICE STANDARDS AND POLICIES 3.1 MAJOR SERVICE/FARE CHANGE POLICY All transit providers that operate 50 or more fixed route vehicles in peak service and are located May 2023 111 P a g e City ofSANTA CLARITA rT`RANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 in urbanized areas (UZA) of 200,000 or more people must conduct a Title VI equity analysis whenever they plan a fare change and/or major service change. Santa Clarita Transit is required to develop a Major Service Change Policy that identifies what constitutes a "major service change" for its system. Transportation decisions that occurred on or after April 1, 2013 at the level of a "major service change" require a service equity analysis. In accordance with industry standard practice, SCT defines any proposed fare increase or major service reduction that reduces service hours and/or miles by 20 percent of the entire system, as a "Major Service Change." 3.2 DISPARATEAND DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT THRESHOLD For any proposed change that requires an equity analysis as defined in section 3.1, SCT will determine if the change would create a disparate or disproportionate impact to minority and/or low-income populations, respectively. Determination of whether a proposed Major Service Change has either disparate or disproportionate impact is based on whether the percentage of minority and/or low-income passengers on an affected transit route is greater than the transit system's percentage of minority and/or low-income riders. Determination of whether a proposed fare adjustment has either a disparate or disproportionate impact is based on minority and/or low-income populations bearing a fare rate change of greater than ten percentage points as compared to the non -minority and/or non -low-income populations. 3.3 SERVICE EQUITYANALYSIS Transit providers that operate 50 or more fixed route vehicles in peak service and are located in a UZA of 200,000 or more in population are required to submit a service and/or fare equity analysis. This requirement is to comply with the Title VI regulations which prohibit disparate impact discrimination, and therefore should document their policies and practices to ensure their service and fare changes do not result in disparate impacts on the basis of race, color or national origin. As a large UZA, the City of Santa Clarita is required to conduct a service equity analysis alongside any major service or fare changes. No major service changes or fare changes were enacted during this triennial period. The last fare change was effective July 2015. 3.4 SERVICE STANDARDS FTA requires that all fixed route transit providers develop quantitative standards for all fixed route modes of operation for the indicators listed below. Providers of public transportation may set additional standards as appropriate or applicable to the type of service they provide. Vehicle Load Vehicle load can be expressed as the ratio of passengers to the total number of seats on a vehicle. May 2023 12 1 P a g e City of SANTA GLARITA 'TRANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 For example, on a 40-seat bus, a vehicle load of 1.3 means all seats are filled and there are approximately 12 standees (total number of people/amount of seated people). According to the FTA, the average of all loads during the peak operating period should not exceed vehicles' achievable capacities. Demand Response vehicles will always be no more than 1.0 max load factor. The City of Santa Clarita performance standard for fixed route maximum load factor is 1.5. According to the City's Transportation Development Plan, vehicles should operate with standees on no more than 20 percent of the runs for any route to avoid recurring loads of more than 150% of the seating capacity4. The table below shows all vehicles used at SCT, and what their total capacities (seating and standing) should be during peak operating service. While the achievable capacities are typically greater, to ensure service quality, if the ratio is exceeded by 1.5, it is the intention of City of Santa Clarita Transit to relieve any overcrowding by adding supplemental runs, or through possible routing changes. ACHIEVABLE PASSENGER CAPACITIES VEHICLE TYPE SEATED STANDING TOTAL MAX. LOAD FACTOR 40' New Flyer Low Floor 40 20 60 1.5 60' Nabi Low Floor 57 26 83 1.5 29' Gillig Low Floor 24 12 36 1.5 40' Gillig Low Floor 37 20 57 1.5 28' Chance Trolley 28 15 43 1.5 35' Hometown Trolley 28 15 43 1.5 45'MCI 57 30 87 1.5 23' Glaval Universal 18 0 18 1.0 Dodge Ram Promaster 6 0 6 1.0 Ford Transit Starcraft 12 0 12 1.0 23' El Dorado Paratransit 12 0 12 1.0 23' Ford E-450 12 0 18 1.0 23' Ford E-450 Starcraft 12 0 12 1.0 Vehicle Headway The City of Santa Clarita Transit operates nine local fixed -routes and two commuter rail feeder routes in the Santa Clarita Valley. In addition, there are seven peak hour commuter routes, operating to downtown Los Angeles, Century City, Warner Center, and North Hollywood. The nine local routes in the current fixed -route bus system provide service Sunday through Saturday. 4 http://santaclaritatransit.com/tdp// May 2023 13 1 P a g e City ofSANTA CLARITA rT`RANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 The commuter routes operate Monday through Friday at peak times only (approximately 5am- 9am and 3pm-9pm), at approximately every 30-60 minutes, except one commuter route which operates every day, all day, from peak hours (6am-1 lam, 3:15pm-9pm) approximately every 45 minutes, and non -peak hours at approximately every hour. On weekdays, all fixed -route service is provided generally between the hours of 5:15 AM and 10:30 PM at every 30 minutes, on Saturdays buses run generally between 6:30 AM and 9:30 PM at 30-minute intervals, and on Sundays and holidays, service is provided between 6:30 AM and 9:30 PM every 30 minutes. Commuter rail feeders operate a limited service during peak hour commuter times, Monday through Friday. On -Time Performance A vehicle is considered on time if it departs a scheduled timepoint zero (0) minutes early and no more than five (5) minutes late. Santa Clarita Transit's on -time performance objective for fixed route service is 90.5 percent or greater. Santa Clarita Transit continuously monitors on -time performance and system results are published and posted as part of monthly performance reports covering all aspects of operations. Service Availability According to the 2019 Transportation Development Plan (TDP), Santa Clarita Transit's main objective is to contribute to the area's economic and social well-being by improving access to employment, shopping, and activity centers for the maximum number of residents. In order to fulfill Santa Clarita Transit's objective, the following four (4) goals were established to reflect the five to ten-year horizon of the TDP: • Expand transit services to enhance underserved business areas. • Review the City's fleet and maintenance standards to address changes in technology and clean fuels and implement best management practices. • Identify and develop a schedule for the maintenance and/or replacement of transit customer service amenities including benches, shelters, trash receptacles, and signage. • Enhance the customer experience so that it accurately represents the City's commitment to customer service. Like many urban areas, the Santa Clarita Valley has multiple activity centers instead of a single central business district (CBD). Within the Santa Clarita Transit service area, there are vast areas of extremely low -density housing and employment sites. The City of Santa Clarita Transit attempts to link major trip generating sites and route vehicles along major commercial thoroughfares. This approach allows for better access to schools, shopping centers, government centers, parks, libraries, hospitals, community and senior centers. The City of Santa Clarita Transit intends to continue to route vehicles so that this type of access is preserved to these facilities. May 2023 14 1 P a g e City ofSANTA CLARITA rT`RANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 Local bus stops will be no more than 0.25 miles apart. If the geography or street infrastructure on a bus route impacts bus stop spacing, bus stops will be placed as close to the 0.25 mile standard as possible. 3.5 SERVICE POLICIES The Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) requires that all providers of fixed route public transportation develop qualitative policies for the following procedures: Vehicle assignment and Transit Amenities. Santa Clarita Transit has adopted these qualitative policies, which are summarized below, and were developed to help Santa Clarita Transit better achieve equity for all of its transit riders. Vehicle Assignment The City of Santa Clarita Transit's fleet is relatively young. SCT's entire fixed route fleet is low - floor and also equipped with air conditioning and automated stop announcement systems. Commuter routes will only be assigned to the larger over the road, single door, high back coaches. They will be rotated within the commuter routes. Due to the larger number of riders, steep terrain, highways and long drives, these larger coaches will ensure reliability. All local routes in the Santa Clarita Valley will rotate with the rest of the fixed route fleet of two -door, low -floor coaches. This is to ensure that all vehicles are being deployed throughout the entire local service area. Dial -A -Ride and Access vehicles are used in demand response service; they are randomly assigned daily trips as maintenance schedules and capacity allow. Below is a list of the entire transit fleet: 1. Commuter Coaches The City of Santa Clarita Transit owns thirty (30) commuter express fixed -route vehicles. That fleet consists of six (6) 2013 MCI model D4500 coaches, as well as five (5) 2016, ten (10) 2017, three (3) 2019, two (2) 2020, and two (2) 2022 MCI model D4500 CNG coaches. 2. Local Coaches The City of Santa Clarita Transit owns fifty-six (56) local fixed -route vehicles. That fleet includes seven (7) 2010 low floor CNG New Flyer coaches, two (2) 2007 NABI 60ft CNG articulated coaches, four (4) 2022, four (4) 2021, six (6) 2020, seven (7) 2019, four (4) 2018, eleven (11) 2014, and nine (9) 2013 low floor CNG Gillig coaches, one (1) 2000 Chance Trolley, and one (1) 2017 Hometown Trolley. 3. Dial -A -Ride and GO! Santa Clarita The City of Santa Clarita Transit owns twenty-two (22) paratransit vehicles: two (2) 2016 Ford Starcraft Cutaways, two (2) 2010 Ford E450 Cutaways, sixteen (16) 2017 May 2023 15 1 P a g e City ofSANTA CLARITA rT`RANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 Ford Starcraft Cutaways, and two (2) 2022 Ford E-450 Starcraft Cutaways. 4. Access Services SCT also operates eleven (11) Access -owned paratransit vehicles which are only used for Access customers. These Access vehicles consist of: two (2) 2019 Ford E- 450 Cutaways, one (1) 2022 Ford E-450 Cutaway, five (5) 2016 Ford E-450 Starcraft Cutaways, one (1) 2015 Ford El Dorado van, one (1) 2019 Dodge Ram, and one (1) 2020 Ford 350HD. Transit Amenities The City of Santa Clarita Transit has 714 bus stops located within the City of Santa Clarita. In addition to the City owned bus shelters, benches and trash cans, the City of Santa Clarita contracts with a vendor who provides an additional fifty-one (51) transit advertising shelters. The installation of transit amenities along bus routes are based on the number of passenger boardings, major landmarks, major transfer points and site availability. All transit amenities installed at bus stops must meet and follow Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements: A minimum sidewalk clearance of 48 inches and/or a 5'x 8'unobstructed concrete landing pad. CHAPTER 4: DEMOGRAPHIC AND SERVICE PROFILE MAPS & CHARTS The FTA requires transit providers receiving federal assistance to provide demographic maps that shade census tracts where the percentage of total minority and low-income population reside in the service area. These maps and charts will help the transit provider determine whether and to what extent transit service is available to minority populations within the transit provider's service area. Using Census data, the City created "map layers" and created a visual display to show demographic information in relation to the City's transit bus routes. It is important to note that the commuter routes extend beyond the City of Santa Clarita into Century City, North Hollywood, and Downtown Los Angeles. As a result, the population and demographic profile differs from that of the City of Santa Clarita. 4.1 MINORITY CHARACTERISTICS The 2017-2021 American Community Survey identified 1,087,200 residents in the census tracts within the greater Santa Clarita Transit service area. The minority population includes African Americans, Asians, American Indian and Alaskan Natives, Pacific Islanders, other Non -White and Non -Hispanic two or more races. Within the Santa Clarita service area, 23.5 percent or 255,805 individuals identified as minority in 2017-2021. This nearly mirrors City of Santa Clarita demographics; however, the greater service area had a lower percentage of minorities (6.4% less) than the City. In reviewing minority populations staff used the lower threshold of 23.5 percent when analyzing census tract data. May 2023 16 1 P a g e City ofSANTA CLARITA rT`RANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 SCT Service Area Minority Status (2017-2021 American Community Survey) Total Population Min ori ority The City of Santa Clarita 232,751 69,581 29.9% 163,170 70.1% Greater Transit Service Area 1,087,200 255,805 23.5% 831,395 76.4% Appendix C shows the demographic map with census tracts where minorities reside within the Santa Clarita Transit service area. All local Santa Clarita Transit routes, including the local routes and the commuter routes, are shown as of May 2023. This map helped Santa Clarita Transit to determine that transit services are available to minority and non -minority populations equally within the Santa Clarita service area. 4.2 INCOME CHARACTERISTICS For the purpose of this Title VI analysis Santa Clarita Transit adopted the State's Housing and Community Development (HCD) threshold in designating census tracts as lower income. In general, HCD considers tracts whose average household income are 80 percent or less of the local area median income as "lower -income." According to HCD thresholds and 2017-2021 American Community Survey results, 8.04 percent of the population within Santa Clarita are designated lower income. Further, when including tracts served by the commuter routes, we see an increase in lower -income tracts as shown in the table below. SCT Service Area Poverty Status (2017-2021 ACS) Total Population Lower Income Percent Lower Income The City of Santa Clarita 232,751 18,724 8.04% Greater Transit Service Area 1,087,200 308,675 28.40% Appendix D shows the census tracts within Santa Clarita as well as the greater transit service area which are designated as lower -income. This map aided Santa Clarita Transit to determine that transit services are available to lower -income and non lower -income populations equally within the Santa Clarita Transit service area. 4.3 DEMOGRAPHIC RIDERSHIP AND TRAVEL PATTERNS COLLECTED BY SURVEYS According to the City of Santa Clarita Transit's 2023 Limited English Proficiency plan (LEP), 30.4 percent of residents speak a language other than English. Of this group, 11.5 percent are Spanish speakers (See Appendix B). In May of 2019 the City of Santa Clarita completed the Transportation Development Plan (TDP), to present a plan for short-term and mid-term operational, financial and capital improvements for the City of Santa Clarita's transit program. These strategies included an onboard customer survey of our local and commuter fixed route services. Based on the TDP survey responses, 11 percent of respondents indicated that their proficiency in English was below average. Of those, Spanish was the most -cited language, representing 14.5 percent. Only 2.5 percent spoke another May 2023 17 1 P a g e City ofSANTA CLARITA rT`RANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 language. This validates the largest LEP population in the Santa Clarita Transit service area as Spanish speakers. The TDP customer surveys also provided data on the income levels of the local and commuter riders. On local fixed -route, the most frequent response (18.7 percent) was a household income level of under $15,000 a year. The majority (21.3 percent) indicated an income between $15,000 and $34,999. On Commuter routes, the majority of respondents (78 percent) cited a household income of $55,000 or more annually. 4.4 MONITORING TRANSIT SERVICE Santa Clarita Transit regularly monitors the service throughout the service area. This evaluation includes route specific ridership, passengers per service hour by route, monthly ridership by route, vehicle loads based on electronic and traditional methods, on -time performance and level of service to various key transfer points. The U.S. Census provides demographic information by census tracts including population estimates, ethnicity, income and other quick facts. This report is used in the Santa Clarita's LEP plan and demographic maps and data to determine where minority and low-income reside in the transit's service area. Through this data, it was confirmed that Santa Clarita Transit routes cover all areas of the Santa Clarita Valley. With approximately 30-minute frequencies on all routes, areas with high and low Limited English Proficiency are equally served. Based on total ridership numbers for all local routes, the highest ridership by far comes from the routes that serve our LEP and minority population of Canyon Country (91351) and Newhall (91321). ROUTE FY2021-2022 Service Area Ridership Totals Route 1 85,166 Castaic & Valencia Route 2 57,212 Val Verde & Valencia Route 3 36,188 Saugus and Valencia Route 4 84,227 Newhall, Valencia and Saugus Stevenson Ranch, Newhall, Route 5 194,902 Valencia and Canyon Country Stevenson Ranch, Newhall, Route 6 310,919 Valencia and Canyon Country Route 7 36,519 Saugus and Valencia Route 12 408,113 Valencia, Newhall and Canyon Country Route 14 82,802 Newhall, Valencia and Saugus May 2023 18 1 P a g e City ofSANTA CLARITA rT`RANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 CONCLUSION This report fulfills the compliance reporting requirements for the Title VI as detailed in FTA Circular 4702.1B. This report detailed Santa Clarita Transit's services, long-range planning efforts and general reporting requirements mentioned in this circular. The program specific requirements were addressed with a demographic and service profile along with a description of Santa Clarita Transit's service standards and policies. Service changes and service monitoring were also described. Finally, a quality of service analysis was conducted. The results demonstrate Santa Clarita Transit services a diverse population and supplies public transportation equitably to all classified races, ethnicities, and income levels. May 2023 19 1 P a g e City of SANTA GLARITA 'TRANSIT Title VI Program Update May 2023 APPENDICES APPENDIX A - 2023 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PLAN APPENDIX B - 2023 SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY PLAN APPENDIX C - 2023 MINORITY DEMOGRAPHIC MAP APPENDIX D - 2023 LOWER -INCOME DEMOGRAPHIC MAP APPENDIX E - 2023 MINORITY AND LOWER -INCOME CENSUS TRACT DATA APPENDIX F - TITLE VI LAWSUITS APPENDIX G - 2023 TITLE VI COUNCIL MINUTES May 2023 20 1 P a g e APPENDIX A Public Participation Plan ci`'' °fSANTA CLARITA -TRANSIT Revised May 2023 w C May 2023 A-1 I P a g e SANTA CLARITA CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Goal of Santa Clarita's Public Participation Plan It What is Public Participation a. Consensus building b. Avoiding "worst case" confrontations C. Maintaining credibility and legitimacy Ill. When is Public Participation Needed? a. Identifying issues that require public participation b. When you're not sure public participation is needed C. Design "checkpoints" 1V. Preparing a Public Participation Plan a. When is one required? b. Who is responsible for developing the plan? V. Public Participation Techniques a. Information techniques b. Participatory techniques C. Putting it all together VI. Santa Clarita Transit Vll. Summary and Follow-up May 2023 A-2 I P a g e L Public Participation Goal The goal of the City's Public Participation Plan is to assure the City is operating with the will of the public it serves and to provide a variety of forums for expressing the ideals, values and desires of the citizens of Santa Clarita. It is the goal of this plan to assure that public participation includes two-way communication, with the overall goal being better decision -making by the City and supported by the public. Citizens cannot participate effectively in decision -making unless they have been adequately informed of the alternatives and their consequences; thus, adequate public information is always a central element in any public participation program. It is important to recognize that public participation goes beyond informing the public. The purpose of public participation is to both inform the public and get the public's reactions regarding the proposed actions or policies. The City of Santa Clarita will utilize two-way communication and problem solving. IL What is Public Participation? Public participation is the process by which our citizens' concerns, needs, and values are identified prior to decisions, allowing the citizens to contribute to and become involved with the City of Santa Clarita's decision -making process. Two-way communication and problem solving from the onset, result in better decision making by the City supported by the citizens. Public Participation and Legitimate Decisions Of critical importance to the decision -making process is making a decision count. It is not enough for the city to just to reach a decision. If it is going to count, a decision must be seen as legitimate by the citizenry. What makes a decision legitimate is not only the substance of the decision, but also the perception by the public that the decision -making process by which the decision was made, was fair, open and democratic. Public participation provides a vehicle by which the citizenry is not only heard before the decision, but has an opportunity to influence the decision from beginning to end. Education is no longer enough. In effective public participation, even if groups or individuals are not entirely satisfied with the final decision, they will have had the opportunity to influence how the question or problem was posed, which alternative got considered, how the alternatives were evaluated and what adjustments were made to reduce impacts. Public participation does not ascertain that every decision will result in a consensus decision; however, it can give legitimacy to decisions, because May 2023 A-3 I P a g e every decision will be made in a visible manner with opportunities throughout the process for the public to influence the outcome. Santa Clarita Transit The City of Santa Clarita's Transit Division is responsible for meeting the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) guidelines and certify that there is a locally developed process to solicit and consider public comment before raising a fare or carrying out a major reduction of transit service. This document serves this purpose. This Public Participation Plan details the opportunity for a public hearing or public meetings, how the meetings will be conducted and how the results will be considered in the process of changing fares and service. A public meeting is not mandatory; however, an opportunity for a public meeting in order to solicit comment must be given. Further details on this process are described in Section VI. Benefits of Public Participation Public participation provides a wide range of benefits to the City. Among benefits are improved quality of decisions, consensus building, avoiding "worst case" confrontations and maintaining credibility and legitimacy. Improved Quality of Decisions The process of consulting with the public often will assist in clarifying the objectives of a project or policy. Public participation often results in considering new alternatives and approaches for the most effective solution. The public often possesses crucial information, which makes a difference in how a decision is implemented, making the difference between a successful or unsuccessful program. a. Consensus Buildi A public participation program provides a better opportunity to build a solid, long term agreement and commitment between otherwise divergent parties. This builds understanding between the parties, reduces political controversy, and gives legitimacy to City decisions. b. Avoiding "Worst -Case" Confrontations Public participation provides opportunities for parties to express their needs and concerns without having to be adversarial. Early public participation can help reduce the probability that the City will be faced with acute unnecessary and avoidable confrontation; however, public participation will not reduce or eliminate all conflicts. c. Maintaining Credibility and Legitimacy The way to achieve and maintain legitimacy, particularly when controversial decisions must be made is to follow a decision -making process, which is visible and credible with the public, and involves the public. Public participation programs will also leave the public more informed and provide a rationale behind decisions. May 2023 A-4 I P a g e As the creators of a new city, we in Santa Clarita have a unique opportunity to build credibility among residents early on. By fully utilizing the various techniques available, Santa Clarita can become known for its vast citizen input on major issues. III. When Is Public Participation Needed? a. Identifying issues that require public participation There are a few guidelines that can be used to determine when citizen participation is needed. These guidelines may or may not fit depending on the issue. New standards should be adopted according to the situation at hand. Public participation may be needed when? • The decision will have a significant impact on the community. The key word here is significant. Anytime a person or groups within the community believe there is something to be lost or gained because of a decision that the City makes, then, it becomes significant to them. What we have to understand is no matter how significant a decision may seem it will have some form of impact on the citizens of that community, whether it is positive or negative. What you have to remember in decision making is that what is not important to you, may be to someone else. • The decision will affect some citizens more than others. These decisions made by the City may impact a large or a small number of its citizens. These decisions usually involve some type of benefits that a particular segment of the community will receive over others. These decisions tend to do more harm to the community as a whole, because the controversies usually center on who gets what and not the decision or the benefits of that decision. If there is any diversity among the citizens of the community, then these types of decisions usually widen the gap. It is important to look at the trade off when the City is making these types of decisions. • The decision will impact a vested interest or use. These decisions usually involve some form of restrictions or cuts in services. These decisions are usually controversial in nature because citizens view these decisions as a restriction of their rights or freedom. Anytime that a decision is made to take away something; it will impact someone. As City government, we hope that impact is small. Example: The big rig truck ordinance involved taking away a way of life. To the truck operators, not being able to park their rigs at home was a big deal. To most residents of the City, however, the unsightliness and blocked views that resulted from trucks being parked on residential streets were more of an issue that the City originally anticipated, thus culminating in the new ordinance. The City thought they had addressed the issue, but failed to see the total effect of the decision. May 2023 A-5 I P a g e • The decision involves a subject which is controversial. These are the City's taboo decisions; no matter what you do, it will be controversial. These taboos usually range from growth issues to City participation in economic incentive packages to companies. Each citizen or group will view the subject in a different manner. It goes back to, what is important for one may not be important to another. Example: Growth Management. Some residents view this as a necessary means to control excessive traffic, overcrowding and pollution; while others view growth management as an obstacle for financial viability. • The City needs active support to implement decisions These are decisions that try to "sell" the citizen on joining the bandwagon by asking them to participate in the decision -making process. This is the key element when the City needs a vast number of citizens to participate to make a decision happen or seem like the decision has mass approval, which increases the power of the decision. Example: The landfill issue. It could be said that a vast number of citizens do not want a landfill near the City. These citizens will support any action that the City takes to avoid this happening. b. When you're not sure public participation is needed The key to this question is when you are not sure if citizen's participation is needed, ask others. Since no one can always accurately predict what the citizen's reaction will be to a particular issue, here are some ways to increase the likelihood that you will identify those issues, which justify public participation. The first step is to review how other cities have handled the issues. You may be able to tell if the citizens of Santa Clarita will react similarly to the issues. This will require that you be familiar with the different actions in the City. Example: Hillside Management. There are a number of cities that could have been contacted early onto see how they handled this. That could have avoided a major issue. • There is a combination of things that the City can do when it is not sure public input is needed First, ask the citizens who will be affected by the decision. You usually can identify the potential level of controversy and key issues that are surrounding the decision. It is important to get a representative sample of participants in this process. Another idea is to conduct focus groups. It is not a perfect method for predicting public reaction, but you may be able to identify potential issues or controversy. The key is to research the issues before the decision is made and not after it. It may be too late by then, and the controversy of the issues will have clouded the citizen's minds. May 2023 A-6 I P a g e Design checkpoints When developing a public participation plan, include milestones as measuring points to judge the effectiveness of your plan. This may be done according to time, uses, or controversies. Do not expect to be right all of the time. This is a key area because any decision that you make will not please everyone. However, if you take the above steps, you may be able to reduce some of the controversy that surrounds the issue. IV. Preparing a Public Participation Plan A. When is one required? City policy requires a Public Participation Plan for City decision making whenever: A City decision is likely to be perceived as controversial or significant by the public, or: The City needs active support to implement a decision. Since the terms "significant" and "controversial" are subject to interpretation, particularly when assessing how a decision will be perceived in the future, assessing whether a decision requires public participation involves judgment on the part of the City staff. The following guidelines will serve as a barometer to determining when something may be perceived as "significant" and "controversial": • The decision will have a substantial impact on City residents in terms of taxes, fees, uses or regulation (e.g., business registration fees). • The decision will significantly affect some groups or neighborhoods in the City more than others (e.g., Palmer's Santa Catarina project). • The decision involves a subject, which is already controversial (e.g., developer agreements). • A decision impacts a great many residents who may feel a sense of obligation and desire to exercise their rights of democracy as part of a sense of ownership and concern for the community. Public Participation is also required when broad -based community support is needed to implement a program such as the Santa Clara River Recreation Plan or the City wide Recycling Program. Each department will be responsible for completing a Public Participation Plan prior to initiating a public participation program. This plan is to be filed in the City Manager's Office, and should be signed by appropriate management of all divisions. May 2023 A-7 I P a g e a. Who is Responsible for Developing the Plan? In most decision -making processes there is one person designated as "program or project manager", whether or not that title is used, who is responsible for seeing that all the technical studies are done, reports are prepared, and recommendations are developed for the Council. This person will be responsible for preparing the public participation plan for their project. This person can ensure that public participation is an integral part of how the decisions get made. This person is encouraged to draw on others in the organization to assist in preparing the plan, such as the Public Information Officer. But the overall responsibility for the plan is located with the person who is responsible for making the entire process happen. V. Public Participation Techniques a. Information Techniques Briefings — Briefings are a way of keeping key elected officials, agencies or key interest groups informed on the progress of specific work/plans. Briefings may consist of a personal visit, or a phone call, to inform these persons before an action is taken. Exhibits/Displays — A visual way to inform the public and stimulate people to participate is to set up exhibits or displays in public places which get a lot of foot traffic, such as major shopping malls, transportation centers, major community events, such as the SCV Business Expo or the Cowboy Festival, or even at sporting events. It is best whenever possible to staff the exhibit with a knowledgeable person. Feature Stories — A feature story is actually an expanded news story, written by a reporter. Feature stories can provide an added dimension to your story, providing the public with an in-depth profile of the different sides of your project. Be sure to provide information that is timely, factual and objective. Mailings — In addition to making reports and documents available at your department counter, the City Clerk's office and in the library, expand your availability of these reports by mailing them directly to leaders of organized groups and interests, including businesses, environmental or neighborhood groups. Consider creating a 2-3 page summary of the reports to a larger list, while mailing the full report to key players. b. Participation Techniques Advisory Groups/Task Forces — For some major issues, the Council may wish to create a citizen's advisory group, such as the General Plan Advisory Committee. Advisory Groups are useful in providing a citizen's perspective throughout the decision -making process. To be effective, advisory groups must be perceived as truly May 2023 A-8 I P a g e representative. Second, it is essential to define the limits of the group's authority must be understood in advance, preferably as part of a written mandate. Third, working with an advisory group requires a significant commitment of time and staff resources, and should not be undertaken if you are unable to commit the resources to make it work right. Task forces are a specific kind of advisory group. While most advisory groups are set up to last the life of the decision making process, task forces usually complete a specific task, then disband. A task force might, for example, recommend criteria for site selection for a controversial facility. Or, a technically oriented task force might assess the health risks associated with using reclaimed water in parks, etc. Once the task force makes it recommendation, then it ceases to exist. It is possible that a number of issues may be resolved by consensus at the task force level, reducing the number of controversial issues, which must be addressed by policy makers. Focus Groups — Focus groups are small discussion groups selected either as randomly as possible, or alternately, as closely approximating the demographics of the community as possible. Focus groups may be used as an alternative to polls to "test market" the public's emotional reactions to a product, idea, etc. The prime value of a focus group is predicting emotional reactions rather than assessing the number of people taking particular positions. Knowing what emotional reactions are likely to be, you may modify ideas, or present them in such a way that either appeals to or avoids emotional responses. In the context of a public participation group, however, there is a chance that conducting focus groups may be seen as an effort to manipulate rather than learn from the public. Hotlines — Hotlines (such as the one-time hotline set up for answering questions on annexation or our on -going Concerned Citizen Hotline) allow the public to receive answers to specific questions or concerns, without risking being transferred back and forth between departments. Hotlines are a form of two-way communication. Many people will (and do) call the hotline to ask a question, while others call only to comment. You may also use a hotline to dispense information, such as when the next meeting will be on the subject of interest. New Conferences — A news conference is a good way to stimulate the interest of the media to do a new story. The value of a news conference is that the key City player(s) will be doing the talking. It is a good rule to reserve news conferences for major announcements, such as the release of a major report or study. Other ideas may include a series of stories in "The Quarterly Report," which is mailed four times a year home in the Santa Clarita Valley, or articles in the Santa Clarita Valley View magazine, a monthly "freebie", mailed to every home. May 2023 A-9 I P a g e It is recommended that the wording of your articles or newsletters be reviewed by a citizen advisory group to assure the language is objective. Newspaper Ads/Inserts — One way to reach the whole community with the same information is to prepare the information in the form of a newspaper insert. Remember though, the more people know about the process the more likely it is that the number of people who want to participate in the decision will increase. The newspaper insert is a good way to reach beyond the most actively involved citizens and to inform the public at large. Be sure the inserts are presented in an objective and balanced manner. Newspaper ads or paid advertisements are an excellent way to make an announcement, especially about an upcoming meeting. Beware of large ads, which tend to draw criticism. Even if they are providing information, they may come under fire due to the use of public funds. Speakers' Bureau — The City's Speakers' Bureau is an effective means for communicating with people who are influential in the community. The City regularly mails letter, brochures, and invitations for speakers and other items to our list of more than 300 clubs, organizations and homeowners associations. If you anticipate numerous presentations, perhaps a power point presentation would be beneficial and more interesting to your audiences. Be sure to tailor your presentation to the technical interests and aptitudes of your audience. Public Service Announcements — Radio and television stations broadcast, without charge, a certain number of announcements. In particular, they are very likely to run announcements of public meetings, events or other opportunities for the public to participate. Workshops are highly interactive; they do not work as well with large groups. When the number exceeds 20-25 people, it is difficult to achieve the kind of interaction you want, although using some form of a large/small group format is possible. Polls — Most participatory techniques do not tell you the proportion of views in the community at large. Is the group you are hearing from just a small, vocal minority, or do they speak on behalf of the majority of the community? Polls allow you to quantitatively assess viewpoints in the community; however, polls do not always predict outcome. Polls are expensive and often capture a snapshot of one moment in time; not preferable if the issue is ever changing. Polls are helpful and informative, but do not replace the need for other forms of direct participation by interested parties. Putting It All Together Remember that there is no one public participation program that meets the needs of all circumstances. The effectiveness of public participation does not result from May 2023 A-10 I P a g e using a single public participation technique, but from combining involvement and participation techniques into a total program. To illustrate the use of citizen participation, let us say, for example, we are evaluating alternate sites for a new City park. • You decide that the meeting format most suitable for evaluating alternative sites is a workshop format. Rather than hold one large meeting, you decide to hold a series of workshops, one for each neighborhood in which there is a potential site. To announce the workshops you might decide to use paid advertising as well as contact the media to arrange feature stories describing the major topics to be covered in the workshops. In all likelihood there are technical or environmental reports that have been prepared and have information that bears on the topics to be discussed in the workshops, so you will be able to mail out technical reports or environmental documents to key agencies and groups so they can review prior to the workshops. Prior to the workshops, you might issue a newsletter or flyer summarizing all the key information which people will need to participate in the workshops. Before printing, you might decide to have the Citizen Advisory Group review the proposed copy for the newsletter, to be sure it seems objective and impartial. Meetings, Hearings, Workshops: — The most widely used technique for public participation is the public hearing. Regrettably, public hearings are not a particularly effective device for public participation. While they do meet legal requirements, they do a poor job of trying to bring people together to resolve problems. In fact, public hearings often exaggerate difference, because during hearings, leaders of constituencies have to be seen defending their constituency's interests. Another concept is the Town meeting, an honored tradition in New England. The spirit of the town meeting is everybody coming together as equals, trying to solve problems and make good decisions. However, public participation meetings never have legally binding power, instead they influence decisions made by our elected officials. A good format is one that ensures everyone gets a chance to be heard. For example, some public meetings use a large group/small group format in which, following an open presentation the audience is broken down into small discussion groups. Afterwards, a spokesperson from each of the small groups makes a short presentation to the full audience, summarizing the discussion in their small groups. May 2023 A-11 J P a g e You may also want to try small "coffee klatches", informal meetings with a small group of people meeting in a private home or other intimate setting such as a local coffee shop. These are better for getting genuine involvement rather that a single large meeting. The point is, do not limit your thinking as to what constitutes a public meeting. Design a meeting format which fits your particular purpose. On form of meeting, which has proven particularly effective in resolving issues, is the workshop. Workshops differ from other public meetings in that they have a stated purpose of completing a specific assignment. For example, a workshop might be used to evaluate alternative sites. A workshop might also be used to eliminate sites which do not meet the siting criteria, or in getting agreement on the actions which need to be taken to mitigate any negative effects of a facility. • You might want to hold individual briefings or a Study Session for City Councilmember's prior to the workshops, so they feel adequately informed in case residents ask them questions. • You might even decide to make presentations to civic and/or technical groups via the City's Speakers' Bureau, prior to the workshops to stimulate interest. • You may consider operating a temporary hotline, providing information to callers, along with an opportunity to leave a message for a return call on individual questions or concerns. • Following the workshops, you will want to get back to people to tell them what the outcome of the workshop was, so you may want to send another issue of the newsletter, or simply a report summarizing public comment. If major decisions resulted form the workshops, you might also want to hold a press conference and issue a news release describing the decision. As this description clearly shows, public participation is not a matter of selecting a single technique, but of combining numerous techniques into a unified program. There are a few suggestions to follow in putting together a public participation program: Highly interactive formats, such as workshops, cut down the chances for posturing and rabble rousing and are usually very satisfactory for the average participant. The two biggest problems with advisory groups are: (1) whenever there is uncertainty about the group's charter — exactly what its authority is or is not — there is a potential for conflict and hard feelings; and (2) advisory groups can spend so much time discussing procedures that they drive away people concerned with substance. The need for elaborate procedures can be sharply reduced if an advisory group agrees to work on a consensus basis rather than by majority vote. Because no advisory group can ever exactly represent the mix of opinion in the community, a close majority vote only shows that the May 2023 A-12 I P a g e community remains divided. Advisory groups can be very helpful, but be aware of their limitations as well. The public information component of a public participation plan must be objective. Publications sent out, as part of public participation programs can not be treated like public relations pieces designed to "sell" a particular point of view. Their purpose is to provide the information the public needs to participate in an informed manner, and if the public is to do that wisely, it must be given objective, balanced, and credible information. Play it straight with the media. Provide all the important information, in an objective, factual manner. Be sure to provide "feedback loops" that is, if you ask the public to participate, always get back to the public in a timely manner to tell people what you heard, how you are going to respond to the comments, and what comes next as a result of those comments. The primary motivation for participation is the sense that you can have an impact. Without feedback, you're providing no rewards to stimulate further participation. Never take elected officials by surprise. Even if elected officials don't like the news, always let them know first, so they are not taken by surprise with residents. A full public participation program is a sizable effort, requiring careful planning, and a significant commitment of time and staff. But the alternative may be to go through the entire decision -making process and be unable to implement anything. VI. Santa Clarita Transit The City of Santa Clarita's Transit Division is responsible for making certain that the necessary steps are taken that both the public is informed and that staff get the public's reactions regarding the proposed actions or policies. The City of Santa Clarita will implement the Public Participation Plan for any proposed fare increase or major service reduction that reduces service hours and/or service miles by 20 percent of the entire system. The public input process includes, but is not limited to, public hearings, public meetings, open houses, or written or electronic comment forms. Santa Clarita Transit staff will develop recommendations as to the appropriate type and level of public input required. Management staff will review these recommendations and determine the method or methods to be used to collect this input. Prior to increasing the basic fare structure or a major service reduction, Santa Clarita Transit staff shall: Appropriately publicize plans to increase the basic fare structure in a variety of ways. Options for publicizing plans include the City of Santa Clarita Transit website, agency e-mails, newsletters, social media messages, and other means of correspondence. May 2023 A-13 I P a g e • Provide opportunities for public input. Options include holding workshops, mailing comment forms to customers, and soliciting for public comment via e- mail. • Present information to the local community centers (ie. Senior Center, Newhall and Canyon Community Center, etc) for their comment and feedback. • Hold a public hearing with written notice and recording services. • Review and document public comments, and present at the public hearing held before the City Council. • Ensure that any transportation investments do not disproportionately burden any population with adverse impacts. Santa Clarita Transit includes an outreach plan to engage minority, and Limited English Proficient (LEP) populations in the following practices: • Scheduling meetings at times and locations that are convenient and accessible for minority and LEP communities. • Provide a bilingual staff member at all community events and public hearings. • Placement of statements in notices and publications that interpreter services are available for these meetings, with seven-day advance notice. • Coordinating with community and faith -based organizations, educational institutions (such as COC), senior centers and other organizations to implement public engagement strategies that reach out specifically to members of affected minority and/or LEP communities. • Consider using radio, television, social media, or newspaper ads on stations and in publications that serve LEP populations. • Providing group travel training to LEP person with the assistance of bilingual staff. VI. Summary and Follow-up This plan is designed to be a "how-to" guide for implementing public participation plans for transit -related projects within the City. While no fare changes or significant service reductions have been made in the last three years to necessitate public input, Santa Clarita Transit has engaged in a number of formal and informal public outreach efforts. Most notable is the 2019 Transportation Development Plan which included a significant level of public outreach in an effort to create a guiding document for Santa Clarita Transit. Over 3,700 surveys were collected from residents and a series of six public workshops were held throughout the duration of the project. Less formal May 2023 A-14 I P a g e efforts have also been utilized such as passenger surveys when schedule revisions are being considered. It is important to recognize the significance of public participation, in that it may change the course of projects and staff work. Implementation of this plan legitimizes public input by helping determine the direction our public is going, and then getting in front of the parade. Remember public participation does not slow things down, but not doing it will. This plan calls for a "project manager" to be in charge of writing and implementing public participation as part of their normal duties with that project. This action is to assure that the public participation process becomes an integral part of all "major" projects, affecting groups of residents. May 2023 A-15 I P a g e Q City of SANTA GLARITA TRANSITLIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN May 2023 APPENDIX B Tntrodncti on The Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Plan has been prepared to address Santa Clarita Transit's responsibilities as a recipient of federal financial assistance as they relate to the needs of individuals with limited English language skills. The plan has been prepared in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and it's implementing regulations, which state that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin. Santa Clarita Transit will take reasonable steps to ensure that all persons have meaningful access to its programs, service and information, at no additional cost. Executive Order 13166, titled Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, indicate that differing treatment based upon a person's inability to speak, read, write or understand English is a type of national origin discrimination. It directs each federal agency to publish guidance for its' respective recipients clarifying their obligation to ensure that such discrimination does not take place. This order applies to all state and local agencies which receive federal funds, including Santa Clarita Transit. Santa Clarita Transit's goal is to take responsible steps to ensure meaningful access in benefits, services and information to LEP persons in the service area. All residents in this service area, to the fullest extent practicable, should be able to understand and participate in the transit services provided. Plan Summary Santa Clarita Transit has developed this Limited English Proficiency Plan to help identify reasonable steps for providing language assistance to persons with limited English proficiency (LEP) who wish to access services provided by Santa Clarita Transit. As defined in Executive Order 13166, LEP persons are those who do not speak English as their primary language and have limited ability to read, speak, write or understand English. This plan outlines how to identify a person who may need language assistance, the ways in which assistance may be provided, staff training that may be required and how to notify LEP persons that assistance is available. In order to prepare this plan, Santa Clarita Transit undertook the U.S. Department of Transportation's (U.S. DOT) four -factor LEP analysis which considers the following factors: May 2023 B-I I P a g e City ofSANTA GLARITAQ)'T'RANSIT LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN May 2023 1. The number and proportion of LEP persons served or encountered in the eligible service population. 2. The frequency with which LEP persons come in contact with Santa Clarita Transit programs, activities or services. 3. The nature and importance of services provided by Santa Clarita Transit to the LEP population. 4. The resources available to Santa Clarita Transit and overall cost to provide LEP assistance. A summary of the results of Santa Clarita Transit's four factor analysis is in the following section. Four -Factor Analysis The number and proportion of LEP persons served or encountered in the eligible service population. Santa Clarita Transit's service area covers the Santa Clarita Valley. This Valley consists of the City of Santa Clarita and various unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. For planning purposes, Santa Clarita Transit reviewed the most current available data from the 2021 American Community Survey (ACS) Selected Social Characteristics in the United States 5-Year Estimates Data Profiles DP02 dataset within Santa Clarita. The incorporated areas within Santa Clarita at the time of the 2021 ACS estimates had a total population of 211,118 over five years of age. In this population, 141,972, or 67.25 percent speak only English. Of the 32.75 percent that speak a language other than English, approximately 20,273 residents, or 29.32 percent, indicated that they speak English "less than very well." Of the 20,273 residents that speak a language other than English, the majority (64.62 percent) are Spanish speakers. Of the residents that speak Spanish, 30.23 percent speak English less than "very well." Other languages spoken within the Santa Clarita Transit service area include: Indo- European (German, Yiddish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Serbo-Croatian, Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu, Greek, Baltic and Iranian languages), Asian and Pacific Island (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Hmong, Khmer, Lao, Thai, Tagalong, Pilipino, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam) and All other languages (everything not mentioned above). The table below illustrates the number of LEP residents by language. May 2023 B-2 I P a g e City of SANTA CLARITA TRANSIT LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN May 2023 Santa Clarita Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English Label Estimate Percent of Total Tota 1 211,118 Speak only English 141,972 67.25% Language other than English 69,146 32.75% Speak English less than "very well" 20,273 29.32% Spanish 44,685 21.17% Speak English less than "very well" 13,506 30.22% Other Indo-European Languages 9,398 4.45% Speak English less than "very well" 1,962 20.88% Asian and Pacific Islander Languages 12,133 5.75% Speak English less than "very well" 3,723 30.68% Other languages 2,930 1.39% Speak English less than "very well" 1,082 36.93% Based on the demographics outlined above, the primary focus of the City's efforts is on the Spanish speaking segment of the LEP population. 2. The frequency with which LEP persons come in contact with Santa Clarita Transit programs, activities or services. Santa Clarita Transit serves LEP persons daily via our fixed route buses and paratransit services daily. The majority of our LEP persons are Spanish speakers. To date, the most frequent contact between LEP persons and our transit staff is with bus drivers. In October of 2020, an informal Coach Operator Survey was conducted by Santa Clarita Transit staff to determine the frequency with which coach operators come in contact with LEP persons and in which geographic segment of our service area. Findings indicate that Spanish is the most frequently encountered language by far, with operators reporting helping multiple Spanish-speaking patrons each day. The Santa Clarita Transit customer call center is staffed with Spanish speaking personnel at all times. Call center staff is also trained to utilize translation services via a remote call center when necessary. Based on data from November 1, 2020 through April 30, 2023, the City's transit call center received 143,645 transit phone calls, of which 15.45%, or 22,187 total calls, are from Spanish speaking customers. According to the B16001 form from the 2016 Census ACS data, the majority of the LEP population resides in the Canyon Country (91351) and Newhall (91321) areas Santa Clarita Transit routes cover all areas of the Santa Clarita Valley. With 30-minute frequencies on all routes, areas with high and low LEP population are equally served. May 2023 B-3 I P a g e City ofSANTA GLARITAQ)'T'RANSIT LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN May 2023 Based on our total ridership numbers for all local routes, the highest ridership by far comes from the routes that serve our LEP population of Canyon Country and Newhall. ROUTE FY2021-2022 Service Area Ridership Totals Route 1 85,166 Castaic & Valencia Route 2 57,212 Val Verde & Valencia Route 3 36,188 Saugus and Valencia. Route 4 84,227 Newhall, Valencia and Saugus Stevenson Ranch, Newhall, Route 5 194,902 Valencia and Canyon Country Stevenson Ranch, Newhall, Route 6 310,919 Valencia and Canyon Country Route 7 36,519 Saugus and Valencia Route 12 408,113 Valencia, Newhall and Canyon Country Route 14 82,802 Newhall, Valencia and Saugus 3. The nature and importance of services provided by Santa Clarita Transit to the LEP population. Santa Clarita Transit provides important transit services to the public through its fixed route and complimentary paratransit services. Santa Clarita Transit is the only major public transportation provider in the Santa Clarita Valley and provides Commuter bus service between the Santa Clarita Valley and the Los Angeles basin. Santa Clarita Transit provides Santa Clarita Valley residents, including LEP persons, transportation services for the purpose of commuting to work, shopping, recreational needs, personal errands, school and other services the public accesses frequently. 4. The resources available to Santa Clarita Transit and overall cost to provide LEP assistance. Providing translation services to allow LEP populations to participate in the development of Santa Clarita Transit's core planning and investment policies is a routine practice for Santa Clarita Transit. Santa Clarita Transit's Customer Call Center, which manages customer comments by phone, mail, email and in -person, currently benefits from having four staff members who speak, read and write Spanish. The customer call center team also utilizes translation services provided by "Language Line" for customers who speak other languages. Spanish translated documents have included rider alerts posted on our buses and at bus stops, fare service change information, how to ride guides and current May 2023 B-4 I P a g e City ofSANTA GLARITAQ)'T'RANSIT LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN May 2023 fare and pass information in the City service brochures. We currently provide a Spanish translator at each one of our community events and have developed Spanish language marketing campaigns promoting the benefits of public transportation. Santa Clarita Transit provides Spanish language materials to our LEP population whenever possible. However, the cost to implement multiple -language (i.e., beyond English and Spanish) materials and translators are significantly high and not currently funded. Santa Clarita Transit staff is exploring lower cost options to expand access to these programs and materials for LEP residents within the service area. In 2013 the Santa Clarita Transit website was updated with Spanish pages and in 2019 staff inserted a clickable Google Translate tab which allows a reader to select their preferred language. Based on the four -factor analysis, Santa Clarita Transit developed its LEP Plan as outlined in the following section. May 2023 B-5 I P a g e City ofSANTA GLARITAQ)'T'RANSIT LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN May 2023 Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Plan Outline How Santa Clarita Transit and staff may identify an LEP person who needs language assistance: 1. Examine records to see if requests for language assistance have been received in the past, either at meetings or over the phone, to determine whether language assistance might be needed at future events or meetings. 2. Have a staff person greet participants as they arrive to Santa Clarita sponsored events. By informally engaging participants in conversation it is possible to gauge each attendee's ability to speak and understand English. 3. Consistently monitor the number of people that access the transit website in Spanish. And continue to update the site wherever needed. 4. If a vehicle operator encounters a customer in need of assistance in a language other than English, vehicle operators are instructed to try to obtain their contact information and give this information to their manager for follow-up. Dispatchers and call center staff are also instructed to obtain contact information from LEP persons they encounter either in person or over the phone and recording passenger's requests for language assistance in the customer service database. 5. Automated phone tree is available in English and in Spanish. Callers are given the opportunity to speak directly to a Spanish speaking staff person. Language Assistance Measures There are numerous language assistance measures available to LEP persons, including both oral and written language services. There are also various ways in which Santa Clarita Transit staff responds to LEP persons, whether in person, by telephone or in writing. • Network with local human service organizations that provide services to LEP individuals and seek opportunities to provide information on Santa Clarita Transit programs and services. • Provide a bilingual staff member at all community events and public hearings. • Placement of statements in notices and publications that interpreter services are available for these meetings, with seven-day advance notice; • Survey bus drivers and other front-line staff, like dispatchers and call center staff, on their experience concerning any contacts with LEP persons during the previous year; • Post the Santa Clarita Transit Title VI Policy and LEP Plan on the agency website, www.santaclaritatransit.com ; May 2023 B-6 I P a g e City ofSANTA GLARITAQ)'T'RANSIT LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN May 2023 • Upon request, provide group travel training to LEP persons with the assistance of bilingual staff, • Include language "Spanish a plus" on bus driver recruitment flyers and onboard recruitment posters; • When an interpreter is needed, for a language other than Spanish, in person or on the telephone, staff will attempt to access language assistance services from a professional translation service. Vital Documents All vital documents are translated into Spanish and posted online and where appropriate. Staff has identified the following documents to be vital as it relates to our passenger's access to service and information: • General service information and notices • Title VI protection notifications and reporting procedures • Public hearing notices • Information regarding the availability of translation services • Onboard and customer surveys Note, although Spanish has been identified as the primary LEP language, translation services for all other identified LEP languages are available upon request. Staff Training The following training is provided to Santa Clarita City and contractor staff: I . Information on the Santa Clarita Transit Title VI procedures and LEP responsibilities 2. Description of language assistance services offered to the public 3. Use of the Language Identification Flashcards 4. Documentation of language assistance requests 5. How to handle a potential Title VI/LEP complaint Outreach Techniques When staff prepares a document or schedules a meeting, for which the target audience is expected to include LEP individuals, then documents, meeting notices, flyers and agendas will be printed in an alternative language based on the known LEP population. Interpreters will also be available as needed. May 2023 B-7 I P a g e City ofSANTA GLARITAQ)'T'RANSIT LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN May 2023 Monitoringand nd Updating the LEP Plan Santa Clarita Transit will update the LEP as required by the U.S. DOT. At minimum, the plan will be reviewed and updated every three years or when it is clear that higher concentrations of LEP individuals are present in the Santa Clarita Transit service area. Updates will include the following: • The number of documented LEP person contacts encountered annually • How the needs of LEP persons have been addressed • Determination of the current LEP population in the service area • Determination as to whether the need for translation services has changed • Determine whether local language assistance programs have been effective and sufficient to meet the need • Determine whether Santa Clarita Transit's financial resources are sufficient to fund language assistance resources needed • Determine whether Santa Clarita Transit has fully complied with the goals of this LEP plan • Determine whether complaints have been received concerning Santa Clarita Transit's failure to meet the needs of LEP individuals Dissemination of the Santa Clarita Transit LEP Plan A link to the Santa Clarita Transit LEP Plan and the Title VI Procedures is included on the Santa Clarita Transit website at www.santaclaritatransit.com. Any person or agency with internet access will be able to access and download the plan from the Santa Clarita Transit website. Alternatively, any person or agency may request a copy of the plan via telephone, fax, mail or in person and shall be provided with a copy of the plan at no cost. LEP individuals may request copies of the plan in translation which Santa Clarita Transit will provide, if feasible. Questions or comments regarding the LEP Plan may be submitted to: Transit Manager Santa Clarita Transit 28250 Constellation Road Santa Clarita, CA 91355 Phone: (661) 295-6300 Fax: (661) 295-6393 Email: as ug ilarksanta-clarita.com May 2023 B-8 I P a g e APPENDIX C 920104 \ .----------, SANTA CLARITA Minority Population 1 920116 920102 ii 1 -----� 920120 City Boundary 1 Census Tracts _ a=-- • 1 1 `- — Transit System Routes -- a I 920015 -- , Minority Populations nont tracts Ge9netl as those wHose minont t tls 1 y y popu a ion excee 920020 • I the service area average of 23.5% - • i 920119 920118 920200 ♦1 x \'. f { 920109 920711 1\ - 920016 920018 920049 1 1 910808 1 �-� 920121 ; 1• 810810 920106 f \920044 920028 1 _ _ 910807 1 "I 920112 920114 920034 • -' 920040 920029 i 920115 920328 920013 920048 920038 920039 92035 920041 920030 1 920046 920339 920329 9203M 920331 920314 92004] 910B09,\ j 920031 a\ i1, 1 \� 920042 910815 ---'- 920338 ; j, -�� 920334 920340 920341 920322 920332 -- 920342`;- 920313920343 1 ` a v 1 920326 pJ � - 92D312 - - - 930400 a.i-• 0 0.5 1 2 Miles - a -' a - I Co Wd Los Angeles. Bureau &-d Manacemen<, Esn. HERE, G eoTechnolep , Inc, L9GS, EPA May 2023 C-1 I Page 1oa 13 10LC13 1� 2 960022 106649 1 �02_� 1062 1 i 320300 — 11120 109200 109100 104310 __ 109300 / 109600 11120fi 111100 109400 113211 113102 ip4401 + 1 111204 108700 1p9604 404 1 3323_ 26 109300 _ 10 119202 �10a600 1 13 3 1 B6n3 113237113 IS 3 2_ / a232 3238 _1 LS I 11,1121 1_4304 3 306 101. IC5 134522 134001 _WJi. 13 903 131520 134906 13� 0i 5111�1134907 134904 6 135116 134905 13 13—137104 N A 0 0.75 1.5 3 v Miles 00 124102 123902 12a204 125101 1z5322 u p2 1zs2p0 '�2s1pa 3101. c"Y"SANTA CLARITA Minority Population City Boundary Census Tracts — Transit System Routes Minority Populations 'Minority tracts defined as those whose mimrty population exceetls the sery c..... verage of 23.5% —ty 19510100730 97 \113`7\\ 90001099002 May 2023 C-2 I P a g e 920104 920116 920119 920118 920106 L 920339 N A 0 0.5 1 2 Miles APPENDIX D � 1 1 1 1 920102 1 1 •-- - 920129 •—— — — — — —• 1 _— 1 a_♦ ` 920015 920020+ 920200 1' — ♦ 1 920049 ' 920016 { ` 1 920109 929018 920771 920045 �— f 920170, 920017 920028 920112 920013 920029 C 920115 48 920030 920329 920314 920031 920331 / 920322 920332 1 920342 920313 920343 — 1 1 w — 920312 1 — — — . '� 1 1 C'" fSANTA CLARITA Low-income Communities City Boundary Census Tracts — Transit System Routes Low -Income Communities 'Low -Income communities as defined by CAAB1550 9108�8 1 `, 9108f0 1 1 910807 920038 — 1 920039 1 929035 1 920041 1 920046 ' 1 1 920047 1 1 1 910809+♦ � w ;1♦ � 920042 w _ — 920043 ` 1 1 1 a • 1 1 1 ' 1 1, 1 • 1 a—• 1 1 1 930400 —' May 2023 D-1 I Page ,08109 106643 980022 �1'.Z"9,96262 ,66642 08204 ,08, 02 ,oa,o 320300 10 0 109ID0 104310 m z91 mE5oo 113211 113101 113102 1,120E 111100 109400 104401 109]00 104404 113212 I ,11204 ,09604 108E 113323 0 p4500 4403 113213 113322 109800 1192021\ 113324 113237 I 113303 11]202 1 03\104821 t121010 117201 Ooa822 121102 980023 113z39 111421 111421 11]405 1190222 6 117404 I11]40] 113232 1 38 11312] 113428 11]408 21121101 102103 32 11323413412]520802 1.1221 1.21.4 134302 134103f34423 134304 I3430fi 134201 I 1 0 I 1220 i 121900 1 22 403 134s22134�2-0 122000121600 \102105 12I400102 \ 310400 4 123301 191342I 26121112 123303310\3161 13„1 3012-1 204 3,0100 L13490]I 134904 \0602 135201 l(\/I 12]]ii 135202 11 13511E 128302 123]00 12390t 01 3 135113 ,34905 0900 3 `3 800 18]103 98nroa 3eao0 124, 02 10]0310703 —13]104 123902 310800 311802 125101 125310 121111 12540y 0, 22 3fl8 125200 ,25404 301602 141400 141305 141306 141500 141fi00 98010, 262302\ 265420 265 01 265100 ]00]00 265410f26- ` 3�2656 26520 �66]02 265203 N 26530 �266602 126�5]0)>� ]01000 980017 26552t z6'6001` `28]901 266522 2�]n 02 267902 0 0.75 1.5 3 Miles °iry "SANTA CLARITA Low -Income Communities City Boundary Census Tracts — Transit System Routes Low -Income Communities -Low-Income--ndies as del— b, CA AB 1550 188202 \88300 01 18820f e] 18]102 18]300 18]200 195100 f 9]4,0 137200 980010 185320 9002 9 199201 IggIT 00iw—, , 9980, 800 20711? 10 199]00 201 2 07 10 - 20 0, 21I112 206020 209201 0]oo 20930012"2 �304311 052 ]1 \20)308 206202 0fi301 207902 207303 22. County of Los 9 ,_Bureau Ott IMenapemenl, E.d, HERE, G-1, 116GG, EGq, NEE May 2023 D-2 I Page Appendix F Service Area Low -Income Designated Census Tracts Census Tract Total Population with Poverty Status Total Population with Income below Federal Poverty Level Census Tract Median Family Income 1021.03 1920 69 69000 1021.04 3956 377 109787 1021.05 1797 184 88750 1043.1 4926 503 88214 1044.01 3134 757 69300 1044.03 2686 357 68616 1044.04 3562 960 51607 1045 2858 824 68750 1048.21 3228 536 60682 1048.22 2566 511 60952 1065.1 5711 546 108900 1066.03 3642 124 129375 1066.04 4561 435 64400 1066.42 3277 351 126674 1066.43 4511 53 188750 1066.46 2940 184 123333 1066.49 2906 192 101176 1081.01 2303 189 146188 1081.02 3320 326 111607 1081.03 3082 89 132101 1082.02 8148 151 168333 1082.04 1893 28 133145 1091 2408 159 94900 1092 2746 74 120032 1093 2895 177 100365 1094 4037 294 96875 1095 4613 936 51176 1096.01 4877 210 103526 1096.03 4233 817 69963 1096.04 3013 276 95750 1097 4735 434 116406 1098 5151 288 103370 1111 3150 172 112703 1112.01 3453 174 107471 1112.04 5897 101 151765 1112.06 4351 141 137375 1131.01 3590 296 110652 1131.02 2770 119 171042 1132.11 4222 238 102756 1132.12 2891 214 120462 1132.13 5519 259 121210 1132.32 4290 270 126292 1132.34 5381 655 83468 1132.37 4924 316 165250 1132.38 4281 455 52841 1132.39 2183 292 49526 1133.03 3677 305 92917 1133.22 4650 305 99286 1133.23 4029 396 74762 1133.24 2844 121 86882 1134.25 4407 587 54491 1134.26 2414 390 76410 1134.27 1770 147 1134.28 4196 415 108838 1172.01 4994 1305 50278 1172.02 2830 185 118929 1174.04 5600 428 112250 1174.05 3356 1212 34655 1174.07 3707 1219 40084 1174.08 2803 1010 36354 1190.01 4583 459 87928 1190.03 4387 284 95278 1190.04 3331 152 94408 1192.02 4756 553 90909 1210.1 47371 5531 89453 1210.2 36791 4981 64878 MAY 2023 E-1 I Page Service Area Low -Income Designated Census Tracts 1211.01 3128 330 71528 1211.02 2206 249 69625 1212.1 2936 103 93526 1212.21 2379 194 90000 1212.22 4681 945 68194 1216 2825 493 74750 1218.02 3067 622 87105 1219 3639 587 51923 1220 5390 468 82481 1221.22 2641 680 42917 1222 3542 477 56042 1233.01 4434 754 73676 1233.03 2846 578 60500 1233.04 4581 1092 50573 1237 4612 540 86297 1238 5939 997 93224 1239.01 4860 737 54875 1239.02 2653 472 84833 1241.02 3561 1044 44185 1242.04 1862 491 40173 1251.01 3567 441 96131 1252 4006 353 93173 1253.1 3804 658 73277 1253.22 2052 602 44125 1254.03 2576 224 100313 1254.04 2694 652 65658 1273 3545 437 83594 1274 6414 819 74700 1275.2 4875 1395 40091 1276.03 2855 536 45542 1276.04 3285 666 49651 1276.06 3133 455 65000 1277.11 3271 508 68214 1277.12 3858 852 52742 1283.02 5096 1144 43839 1284 4531 750 94205 1288.01 3673 411 83021 1289.1 4775 288 117004 1340.01 3623 458 68115 1340.02 3849 516 68641 1341.03 4546 1354 74464 1342.01 4938 413 83721 1343.02 4127 708 114167 1343.03 5516 387 106364 1343.04 2750 371 98259 1343.05 3961 843 47647 1343.06 4344 555 55242 1344.22 4681 185 144918 1344.23 3537 243 122465 1345.2 5761 1007 41118 134522 4574 1667 50337 1349.04 4441 651 89205 1349.05 5074 827 105040 1349.06 3042 463 63125 1349.07 3325 873 119426 1351.02 3860 55 149844 1351.11 4050 300 115606 1351.13 3138 135 124628 1351.15 3098 371 83468 1351.16 1463 198 1352.01 3013 376 108226 1352.02 4618 304 121250 1371.03 5540 717 84716 1371.04 2579 439 129722 1413.05 2606 165 134628 1413.06 3176 84 159896 1414 5332 223 142599 1415 3015 81 236250 1416 4198 200 220694 1853.2 2938 775 60208 MAY 2023 E-2 I Page Service Area Low -Income Designated Census Tracts 1871.01 3163 247 93586 1871.02 4376 831 70709 1872 3324 165 78456 1873 3715 332 124643 1881 3932 541 64946 1882.01 3252 297 107132 1882.02 2887 100 212794 1883 3822 356 121250 1951 4980 179 180093 1972 3708 181 65833 1974.1 3887 251 140761 1990.01 2676 669 51429 1990.02 2725 427 87014 1992.01 3727 592 48523 1997 3006 754 39505 1998.01 3618 792 40443 1998.02 2400 319 48047 2060.1 3966 1172 39489 2060.2 559 76 87813 2060.52 2841 415 117000 2062.01 2154 698 42000 2062.02 1719 885 2063.01 1833 1213 2071.01 3906 867 60288 2071.02 3181 1086 31696 2071.03 2144 596 35000 2073.03 2187 454 2073.04 2022 1133 110000 2073.05 961 34 119120 2073.06 1724 468 2073.07 1424 647 2073.08 1323 129 2074 913 209 123875 2075.01 2133 391 121058 2075.02 3072 1155 2077.11 1661 173 155556 2077.12 3454 1025 2079.01 2582 621 121765 2079.02 5718 972 134909 2080.01 2410 855 2092.01 3021 527 106488 2092.02 1604 474 27880 2093 5090 2179 34388 2260.02 2048 712 56326 2622 4344 88 250000 2623.01 2083 220 231875 2623.02 2941 251 250000 2651 2531 140 201481 2652.01 2166 304 219776 2652.03 2146 353 90186 2652.04 1358 416 2653.01 0 0 2653.03 5089 3270 2653.04 2056 1405 2653.06 1478 1153 2653.07 1927 1042 174808 2654.1 1770 136 250000 2654.2 1591 166 250000 2655.21 1849 642 84375 265522 2431 887 106518 2656.01 3480 414 125577 2656.02 3101 417 146786 2657.01 1486 95 211528 2657.02 2985 278 118500 2671.01 3646 318 109939 2671.02 3081 288 174737 2679.01 2560 146 135368 2679.02 3565 165 223224 3016.01 5607 1124 43077 3016.02 43851 4091 82321 MAY 2023 E-3 I Page Service Area Low -Income Designated Census Tracts 3101 5239 518 140946 3104 3438 144 118030 3105.01 4020 393 63055 3106.01 6905 1260 78725 3106.02 2764 144 99434 3107.01 2121 546 32663 3107.03 4517 716 73580 3107.05 2293 589 3108 5114 686 102440 3109 6117 324 104397 3118.01 2896 426 67949 3118.02 4255 245 81919 3203 6414 781 67786 7007 3534 150 250000 7010 5226 493 158438 9108.07 5792 656 114844 9108.08 3553 38 107321 9108.09 2142 60 201641 9108.1 2566 72 159107 9108.15 4995 617 123924 9200.13 6854 507 138986 9200.15 6496 120 152476 9200.16 4039 35 145096 9200.17 4200 175 115809 9200.18 1984 138 133603 9200.2 5959 212 132670 9200.28 8383 1565 130000 9200.29 5039 619 88514 9200.3 4816 385 113125 9200.31 4741 500 92250 9200.34 3303 420 106250 9200.35 7097 1322 75845 9200.38 1658 220 49722 9200.39 1623 66 131719 9200.4 3993 138 115054 9200.41 1373 163 81023 9200.42 6599 673 101250 9200.43 7467 394 161280 9200.44 2352 99 98700 9200.45 4404 111 139821 9200.46 3836 180 73160 9200.47 6755 1877 56302 9200.48 5305 520 89904 9200.49 5076 364 145982 9201.02 4502 277 102632 9201.04 2903 84 135000 9201.06 3828 153 92583 9201.09 4883 104 123984 9201.1 2978 146 135625 9201.11 2901 62 127313 9201.12 4063 173 143973 9201.14 6265 511 126746 9201.15 4193 117 122569 9201.16 4985 441 136597 9201.18 6149 86 134348 9201.19 1835 89 161875 9201.2 4062 62 189214 9201.21 9371 725 158456 9202 0 0 9203.12 6230 990 115625 9203.13 4925 420 128105 9203.14 3200 419 125038 9203.22 2622 258 85357 9203.26 6166 294 140194 9203.28 2011 140 190833 9203.29 66351 476 108250 9203.3 34161 320 121458 9203.31 34401 113 111250 9203.32 16051 37 123550 9203.34 53731 553 112857 MAY 2023 E-4 I Page Service Area Low -Income Designated Census Tracts 9203.38 5723 215 165603 9203.39 7851 456 162986 9203.4 2906 440 93388 9203.41 3299 1034 37134 9203.42 3040 328 56346 9203.43 3972 840 48750 9304 1137 221 163412 9800.09 0 0 9800.1 119 28 9800.17 950 591 45250 9800.22 0 0 9800.23 0 0 9800.24 1991 25 163125 MAY 2023 E-5 I Page Minority Populations by Service Area Census Tracts Census Tract Total Population Total White Total Black Total American Indian and Alaska Native Total Asian Total Two or More Races Total Hispanic or Latino Total Native Hawaiian andPercent Other Pacific Islander Minority 1021.03 1767 1375 28 0 148 52 164 0 12.9 1021.04 4003 2636 76 13 404 268 606 0 19 1021.05 1674 400 6 27 107 58 1068 8 12.3 1043.1 4875 96 111 0 4 13 4530 0 5.1 1044.01 3066 103 31 0 32 0 2900 0 2 1044.03 2724 43 0 0 204 0 2477 0 7.5 1044.04 3413 77 0 0 79 0 3257 0 2.3 1045 3119 70 1 7 1 6 3028 0 0.7 1048.21 3514 133 42 0 44 29 3266 0 3.3 1048.22 2668 34 6 0 105 21 2502 0 4.9 1065.1 5738 746 190 0 1251 207 3304 0 29.4 1066.03 3646 1780 76 0 802 52 932 4 25.6 1066.04 3749 198 99 0 205 3 3244 0 8.2 1066.42 3421 2241 101 0 169 165 745 0 12.7 1066.43 4432 2302 262 25 897 41 488 0 37.1 1066.46 3002 1230 178 4 558 161 833 38 31.3 1066.49 2816 242 92 9 451 39 1983 0 21 1081.01 2324 1228 52 0 430 74 535 0 24.2 1081.02 3439 1471 94 0 1333 63 478 0 43.3 1081.03 3064 1679 50 0 708 202 362 12 33.4 1082.02 8776 2595 1503 57 3367 224 973 0 59.3 1091 2558 849 51 0 379 0 1279 0 16.8 1092 2863 657 94 0 848 39 1225 0 34.3 1093 2846 885 69 0 451 74 1329 0 22.2 1094 4285 504 16 0 79 0 3391 279 9.1 1095 4238 79 3 0 203 0 3953 0 4.8 1096.01 4849 1090 33 0 477 195 3044 0 14.7 1096.03 4235 534 67 0 727 27 2838 0 20.4 1096.04 2812 308 61 0 272 46 2036 1 16.6 1097 4496 1828 232 0 719 230 1450 0 27 1098 4766 1393 25 0 651 27 2670 0 14.8 1111 3058 887 85 4 645 122 1288 0 28.9 1112.01 3462 1382 11 0 416 14 1639 0 12.8 1112.04 5614 2703 142 10 1393 298 1068 0 32.9 1112.06 4361 2182 166 0 750 194 1063 0 25.6 1131.01 3580 2057 200 0 537 88 698 0 23 1131.02 2717 1695 28 0 388 59 508 0 18.9 1132.11 4121 2257 333 9 668 112 742 0 27.2 1132.12 3163 929 118 11 842 2601 1003 0 38.9 MAY 2023 E-6 ( P a g e Minority Populations by Service Area Census Tracts 1132.13 5176 1770 180 4 740 329 2086 0 25.5 1132.32 4973 2872 203 0 578 357 953 0 23 1132.34 5371 1142 258 0 860 22 3089 0 21.2 1132.37 5130 1934 692 0 718 375 1374 0 35.5 1133.03 3899 2055 106 17 557 145 1019 0 21.2 1133.22 4405 2109 595 1 474 124 1102 0 27.1 1172.01 4608 478 66 0 619 91 3293 0 18.1 1172.02 2840 865 128 2 552 115 1178 0 28 1174.04 5466 1546 368 7 611 123 2811 0 20.3 1174.05 3406 123 88 0 29 0 3156 0 3.7 1174.07 3702 21 53 0 85 26 3517 0 4.4 1174.08 2592 177 206 0 246 47 1916 0 19.3 1190.01 4417 441 13 51 782 11 3098 16 19.9 1192.02 4895 183 7 31 505 33 4136 0 11.8 1210.1 5243 1651 12 0 528 0 3042 0 10.5 1210.2 3626 904 72 0 173 141 2336 0 10.7 1211.01 3088 521 31 0 260 22 2186 0 12.3 1211.02 2273 950 35 0 78 30 1155 0 7.4 1212.1 3109 272 22 0 263 56 2425 11 13.3 1212.21 2329 366 51 0 234 7 1646 0 13.6 1212.22 4808 535 138 8 110 38 3979 0 6.1 1216 2745 1345 23 0 579 65 733 0 24.3 1218.02 3017 599 216 0 181 45 1976 0 14.6 1219 3548 436 39 0 109 0 2964 0 4.2 1220 4940 2062 74 0 494 70 2240 0 13 1221.22 2556 86 39 0 63 0 2368 0 4 1222 3662 837 14 0 86 36 2689 0 3.7 1233.01 4302 1360 229 0 997 34 1633 0 30.4 1233.03 2996 821 113 0 200 79 1756 27 14 1233.04 4467 2043 65 0 231 52 1987 0 9.8 1237 4474 2306 392 0 42 162 1572 0 13.4 1238 5753 3500 148 13 237 314 1541 0 12.4 1239.01 4158 1454 236 0 294 75 2026 73 16.3 1239.02 2791 1222 160 0 343 51 1006 0 20.2 1241.02 3597 1184 120 0 722 169 1402 0 28.1 1242.04 2104 529 64 0 166 84 1133 0 21.1 1252 3757 2268 194 0 112 215 956 0 14.2 1253.1 3525 1523 529 0 174 181 1118 0 25.1 1273 3732 882 173 0 464 103 2023 15 22.2 1274 6291 818 71 22 176 109 5095 0 6 1275.2 4881 419 283 0 177 17 39471 0 10.5 1276.03 2757 273 32 0 78 43 23141 17 6.2 1276.04 3288 10101 218 0 230 82 17481 0 16.1 1276.06 3179 6931 62 0 464 78 18651 0 19.5 MAY 2023 E-7 I P a g e Minority Populations by Service Area Census Tracts 1277.11 3107 1021 263 0 218 31 1564 0 16.8 1277.12 3752 971 334 0 232 78 2137 0 17.1 1283.02 4826 900 152 0 245 27 3502 0 8.8 1284 4643 2240 558 0 209 248 1368 0 22.3 1288.01 3807 2169 241 0 361 336 700 0 24.6 1289.1 4614 2615 149 0 514 295 929 0 23.2 1340.01 3757 514 139 0 399 34 2651 0 15.7 1340.02 3760 1019 245 0 331 384 1707 0 27.5 1341.03 4495 1266 208 33 330 194 2400 21 18.4 1342.01 4587 1253 99 0 1258 127 1825 11 32.9 1343.02 4082 1610 31 0 1048 68 1325 0 28.1 1343.03 5556 2371 25 42 785 91 2242 0 16.9 1343.04 2885 965 147 0 559 101 1039 0 30.6 1343.05 3726 334 93 0 283 16 3000 0 10.5 1343.06 4387 614 325 0 820 177 2451 0 30.1 1344.22 4809 2740 152 0 921 188 771 0 27 1344.23 3385 2163 159 0 594 72 397 0 24.4 1345.2 5439 636 102 0 580 86 4035 0 14.1 1345.22 4490 1079 177 12 199 47 2930 0 10.7 1349.04 4701 1057 187 0 853 313 2283 0 28.9 1349.05 5028 2510 1102 0 727 192 457 40 41 1351.02 3672 2198 332 0 337 122 619 0 23.2 1351.11 3785 1759 145 0 551 193 1137 0 23.5 1351.13 3225 1486 323 0 538 159 664 40 33.3 1352.01 2925 1871 94 0 331 151 465 0 20.1 1352.02 4531 2904 252 0 619 171 482 18 25.3 1371.03 5389 3529 39 32 935 84 744 0 20.7 1371.04 2511 1743 103 0 188 128 338 0 17.1 1414 5233 3327 221 0 400 412 873 0 19.7 1415 3006 2557 162 0 149 15 65 0 12.7 1416 4183 3193 95 0 319 226 350 0 15.3 1853.2 2831 304 18 0 117 21 2371 0 5.5 1871.01 2983 913 0 0 1082 84 887 0 39.7 1871.02 4588 853 106 0 1337 225 2067 0 36.3 1872 2809 627 25 0 356 157 1617 12 20.1 1873 3688 2155 102 0 502 101 812 0 19.6 1881 3842 1235 22 0 435 172 1978 0 16.4 1882.01 3077 1985 92 75 385 113 417 0 21.9 1882.02 2832 1594 68 0 600 69 449 0 27.8 1883 3738 1473 15 147 925 166 1012 0 33.5 1951 5106 3287 82 24 621 290 802 0 19.9 1972 3564 457 45 0 1492 93 1462 15 46.2 1974.1 3727 1877 95 32 321 287 1115 0 19.7 1992.01 3686 86 0 0 11801 91 24111 0 32.3 MAY 2023 E-8 I P a g e Minority Populations by Service Area Census Tracts 1997 2940 391 129 0 450 92 1854 0 23.6 2060.1 3864 433 82 0 1207 17 2117 0 34 2060.2 10614 1784 3578 20 359 266 4424 44 41.5 2071.01 4054 641 461 59 1965 331 501 0 71.8 2071.02 3103 294 53 0 1770 113 873 0 62.4 2071.03 2055 164 61 5 1610 29 186 0 82.9 2074 2122 417 313 10 496 24 862 0 39.7 2075.01 2022 686 189 0 563 66 518 0 40.5 2075.02 3317 864 209 0 1851 148 245 0 66.6 2093 4619 279 553 0 587 94 3106 0 26.8 2260.02 1912 518 246 0 167 115 861 0 27.9 2622 4227 3102 99 0 290 450 280 0 20 2623.01 2602 1710 115 0 358 127 292 0 23.1 2623.02 2824 2422 16 0 95 131 160 0 8.5 2651 2395 1920 109 0 120 25 75 0 16.7 2652.01 2717 1734 83 0 530 67 285 0 25.7 2653.01 13830 3805 724 44 5087 875 3206 17 49.3 2653.03 4653 1324 221 0 1768 361 931 42 51.5 2653.04 2748 1062 130 0 1008 156 363 29 48.2 2654.1 1741 1550 0 0 106 40 45 0 8.4 2654.2 1502 1074 32 0 121 173 97 5 22 2656.01 3210 2388 0 0 473 123 188 0 19.7 2656.02 2947 2147 34 0 370 221 121 0 23 2679.01 2450 1754 56 0 465 24 122 0 23.4 2679.02 3590 2438 172 1 535 264 174 6 27.3 3016.01 5496 3562 189 0 257 101 1387 0 10 3016.02 4192 1517 102 18 310 391 1847 0 19.7 3101 5618 3790 144 43 633 106 902 0 16.4 3104 3269 2018 42 13 283 384 521 0 22.4 3105.01 3914 1128 229 35 379 114 2004 15 20 3106.01 6425 2866 806 0 758 154 1571 0 30.9 3106.02 2873 1779 32 3 423 76 510 0 20.3 3107.01 2286 1661 21 0 174 7 365 0 11.3 3107.03 4565 3371 22 0 271 78 755 0 9.7 3108 5634 3350 103 0 678 202 1301 0 17.4 3109 6920 3220 68 12 1380 324 1909 0 25.9 3118.01 3020 1358 78 52 259 39 1209 0 15 3118.02 4447 1319 214 35 604 217 2049 0 24.2 3203 6403 196 28 55 57 0 6067 0 2.1 7007 3579 3038 2 12 53 249 132 0 11.4 7010 5033 3904 111 15 352 411 240 0 17.6 9108.07 6132 3032 1961 0 762 175 1934 0 19.1 9108.08 3836 2179 2571 0 14 168 1208 0 11.7 9108.09 2275 1474 321 0 54 114 5311 0 11.9 MAY 2023 E-9 I P a g e Minority Populations by Service Area Census Tracts 9108.1 2703 1470 200 97 365 60 511 0 26.7 9200.13 7661 2991 808 0 1343 377 1882 260 36.4 9200.15 7284 4743 212 0 399 248 1568 0 13.4 9200.16 4229 2184 198 6 313 142 1373 0 15.9 9200.17 4295 2495 75 7 83 94 1454 0 8 9200.18 2114 1424 0 0 98 39 553 0 6.4 9200.2 5983 3444 10 0 201 342 1970 2 9.5 9200.28 9158 2937 345 47 1745 460 3600 0 28.6 9200.29 5209 2448 135 0 368 133 2049 2 13.7 9200.3 4954 1412 465 0 594 330 2153 0 28 9200.31 5045 3051 113 0 293 187 1401 0 11.7 9200.34 3667 1337 241 0 448 149 1492 0 22.8 9200.35 8186 2317 106 4 163 651 4937 0 11.4 9200.38 1785 357 106 13 99 55 1155 0 15.3 9200.39 1559 799 48 0 126 23 525 0 15 9200.4 3288 1400 222 0 342 83 1241 0 19.7 9200.41 2626 821 329 0 206 135 1122 0 26 9200.42 6915 2810 270 25 799 884 2115 12 28.8 9200.43 8468 2984 603 0 1955 448 2478 0 35.5 9200.44 2580 1053 127 0 273 117 968 7 21.7 9200.45 4514 2888 40 0 380 117 1087 2 11.9 9201.02 4614 2289 109 0 426 276 1319 12 21.8 9201.04 2886 1708 34 0 173 192 779 0 13.8 9201.06 3763 1267 78 0 140 52 2205 0 7.7 9201.09 4828 2791 36 0 670 257 765 309 26.4 9201.1 3227 1843 33 0 520 44 765 5 19.2 9201.11 3187 2113 18 65 181 53 757 0 9.9 9201.12 4268 2436 304 0 293 80 959 126 20.4 9201.14 6050 3213 63 0 1182 192 1400 0 23.8 9201.15 4532 2133 373 31 703 323 969 0 31.5 9201.16 4984 2815 88 0 362 339 1375 5 15.9 9201.18 5889 2826 141 24 789 449 1637 0 24.2 9201.19 1817 856 31 0 395 75 456 0 27.8 9202 5850 827 1055 0 76 305 3539 9 25.4 9203.12 6561 2568 237 24 332 118 3251 31 11.3 9203.13 5298 2244 40 21 355 202 2402 32 12.3 9203.14 3448 1803 64 0 491 114 963 0 19.8 9203.22 2883 1689 31 0 126 109 928 0 9.2 9203.26 6315 2968 410 18 1282 171 1466 0 29.8 9203.28 2012 1402 34 0 214 45 309 8 14.9 9203.29 6653 4087 165 0 625 3721 1404 0 17.5 9203.3 3573 2396 82 0 359 461 690 0 13.6 9203.31 3937 2503 89 0 246 2901 807 2 15.9 9203.32 2426 1596 17 20 77 1351 543 16 11.8 MAY 2023 E-10 I P a g e Minority Populations by Service Area Census Tracts 9203.34 6340 4092 149 41 610 292 1131 0 17.7 9203.38 5720 2628 362 0 1160 510 1060 0 35.6 9203.39 8158 2752 279 0 2516 819 1597 0 46.7 9800.09 5 1 0 0 1 0 3 0 20 9800.1 109 12 0 0 25 5 66 1 28.4 9800.22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9800.23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9800.24 200 106 20 0 28 5 41 0 26.5 1082.04 1831 787 68 20 838 21 97 0 51.7 1132.38 4165 669 261 0 1078 116 2016 0 35.5 1132.39 2354 333 765 13 242 0 990 11 43.8 1133.23 3884 1073 207 0 557 123 1877 47 24.1 1133.24 2931 618 342 0 360 90 1508 0 27.4 1134.25 4561 714 305 0 326 94 3119 0 15.9 1134.26 2412 679 3 0 467 53 1192 11 22.4 1134.27 2156 497 187 0 473 80 919 0 34.3 1134.28 4026 1847 57 0 489 100 1533 0 16 1190.03 4070 141 124 0 189 76 3540 0 9.5 1190.04 3398 187 0 0 400 0 2802 0 12 1251.01 3819 1910 578 8 273 93 944 0 25.3 1253.22 1979 851 107 0 123 97 786 0 17.3 1254.03 2344 1131 105 0 232 0 876 0 14.3 1254.04 2696 1246 705 0 199 132 393 0 39.2 1349.06 3269 549 0 0 563 150 2007 0 21.8 1349.07 3354 1709 501 108 462 0 544 0 32.8 1351.15 3118 1198 85 0 989 129 717 0 38.6 1351.16 1586 842 42 0 131 120 451 0 18.5 1413.05 2625 1992 88 4 130 100 311 0 12.3 1413.06 3145 2029 76 0 191 66 783 0 10.6 1990.01 2083 39 0 0 843 0 1201 0 40.4 1990.02 2714 458 54 0 620 23 1559 0 25.7 1998.01 3740 45 16 0 1231 0 2448 0 33.3 1998.02 2207 64 0 70 1205 0 868 0 57.8 2060.52 3065 820 154 0 1298 229 509 55 56.6 2062.01 2134 456 374 0 866 108 324 0 63.4 2062.02 1839 301 341 0 891 57 249 0 70.1 2063.01 1819 480 892 0 35 84 324 0 55.8 2073.03 2242 830 392 11 404 115 490 0 41.1 2073.04 2101 394 443 0 198 229 770 0 44.6 2073.05 717 498 16 0 0 51 152 0 9.3 2073.06 1978 779 415 0 272 79 398 0 40.5 2073.07 1461 327 528 0 121 50 354 64 53.4 2073.08 1288 655 151 0 267 28 175 0 35.5 2077.11 1881 955 150 0 567 0 190 0 39.1 MAY 2023 E-11 I P a g e Minority Populations by Service Area Census Tracts 2077.12 3947 906 509 0 1558 145 829 0 56 2079.01 2991 613 375 83 1046 78 758 0 54.2 2079.02 6236 1638 518 0 2198 393 1489 0 49.8 2080.01 2248 409 137 0 502 132 1068 0 34.3 2092.01 3036 731 506 0 1005 142 494 137 59.6 2092.02 1621 141 186 0 179 241 874 0 37.4 2652.03 1866 1363 19 0 229 111 144 0 19.3 2652.04 1415 862 0 0 407 22 87 0 33 2653.06 1785 677 16 0 475 147 467 0 35.9 2653.07 1765 542 292 0 639 126 143 8 61.2 2655.21 1505 749 0 35 553 114 54 0 46.6 2655.22 2350 1147 148 0 823 47 185 0 43.3 2657.01 1463 898 14 0 192 152 207 0 24.5 2657.02 2827 2637 29 0 11 75 75 0 4 2671.01 2989 1912 21 0 450 129 462 0 20.5 2671.02 2910 1963 59 0 549 93 246 0 24 3107.05 2483 1109 119 0 975 106 91 0 51.6 9108.15 4982 3425 99 16 75 108 1248 0 6.2 9200.46 4033 945 111 23 170 108 2676 0 10.2 9200.47 7982 1103 334 0 220 224 5819 0 13.3 9200.48 5745 2187 197 12 161 226 2960 2 10.4 9200.49 5759 3206 185 15 536 301 1516 0 18 9201.2 3998 1503 428 0 899 243 830 0 41.6 9201.21 10391 4100 879 108 2894 507 1853 0 42.7 9203.4 3255 689 0 0 199 207 2160 0 12.4 9203.41 3384 268 30 0 170 114 2774 0 10.1 9203.42 3156 191 0 0 328 0 2637 0 10.3 9203.43 4062 752 317 7 277 93 2571 45 18.2 9304 1321 577 108 0 64 75 493 4 19 9800.17 1075 404 319 0 71 83 198 0 44 MAY 2023 E-12 I P a g e APPENDIX G Title VI Investigations, Lawsuits, and Complaints Date Summary Status Action(s) Taken (MMIDDIYYYY) Investigations 1) Lawsuits 1) Complaints 10) Anonymous 11/21/2020 The driver was extremely rude CLOSED Block 6119, trip 851, the video reviewed and screamed at me to stand by shows the operator serviced Ave Stanford the door and make sure I was 6 and Huntington Ln at 8:02am, one patron feet away from everyone else, boarded. Every other row was occupied so despite there are several open the operator spoke loudly and asked him to seats. I believe it's a case of racial stand by the door, to remain 6 feet apart. discrimination as I'm the only There were several open seats, however to Asian person on the bus. He also avoid close contact patrons are encouraged drove recklessly when passing a to follow the recommended 6 feet distance bicycle and honked non-stop and rule. screamed at him for several minutes at the bike rider. This is At 8:03am, the operator serviced the next extremely dangerous towards the stop, one patron got off. The operator told cyclist and bus passengers. This the gentleman that he could now take her driver possibly has anger management issues and needs to seat. The rest of the clip does not show evidence of reckless driving. not be on the road. The way the operator addressed the patron could have been better, he was trying to implement the recommended social distancing rule. The patron was wearing a hat, sunglasses and a mask, there is no way the operator could have known the patron's race 11) Dennis Park. 5/28/2021 1 am an Access passholder and CLOSED Block 6113, trip 393, the video reviewed was denied ramp, kneeling on confirms Mr. Park's statement. The operator multiple occasions. I've already did not allow patrons to board from the front got a back injury from this same door, he did not acknowledge customer that driver named Ray. Ray is also a was standing in front of the front door, trainer, I believe. Its route 6, instead he asked him to board from the rear Stevenson Ranch, coach 136. door. The stop is Wiley and Orchard. I The operator pulled out and left the May 2023 F-1 I Page am ready to file legal action, ADA violation. customer behind. Starting January 2021, Santa Clarita Transit resumed front door boarding and fare collecting. By not allowing the customer boarding to from the front, operator did not collect fare. All local buses are equipped with ramp for easy access, patron may request to use the ramp at any time. Refusing to allow access to the ramp is against City policy. Operations and management have reviewed the video and the necessary steps are being taken with the operator. 12) Mario 3/24/2023 Last week, on either March 17th CLOSED Resolution: The investigation into this matter Grassano, Jr or 18th, this bus driver (bus 794, began on Monday 3/27/2023, when it was 7:12am) committed a serious addressed by Adrian on our AM conference violation, which I hope I don't call. I began reviewing the concern later this have to expose to the PUC & day and began breaking it down item by Safestat - he violated Penal Code item. With the assistance of Larry Miranda, 422.55 - 422.60. 1 have several MV Safety and Training Manager we started videos of him defending a Latino by researching the penal codes the MV who was using very profane Operator allegedly Violated. 422.55 —(2) language, a violation of Penal 422.60, and 415(3). Mr. Grassano Code 415(3). And today, March seemingly did not read and/ or understand 24th 2023, he placed me under these codes in their entirety. The following is duress, and attached is a what these codes encompass: screenshot of my video where he claims that freedom of speech is (1)P.C. 422.55 is a Hate crime statute, all encompassing. however it specifies that a criminal act must be committed which clearly has not occurred. (2)P.C. 422.6 is a civil right statute that specifies that a privilege or right is denied BECAUSE of a protected status. To Date, Mr. Grassano has not been denied any service. He has however had to find other means of transportation due to the fact he was carrying an oversized bicycle that some coaches cannot accommodate. (3)P.C. 415.3 is a crimes against public peace statute that specifies that the profane language must be intended to provoke May 2023 F-2 I Page Immediate Violence, which again, did not occur. Once it was determined that none of the above has occurred, we progressed further. We reviewed the social media posts he mentioned. Once this video was reviewed, as well as others it was determined that we needed to download video off the coach (s). In comparison it was clear some form of editing had occurred to portray a certain narrative. While digging deeper we discovered patron has a history of posting on social media content that is disparaging to Americans of Latin decent and Women. At this point patron had filed multiple concerns on more than one driver all of Latin decent. With these operators as well, Mr. Grassano was aggressive and hostile. At this point, it was determined that patrons' rights have not been violated, and concern was deemed invalid. Attempt to Contact: On April 5,2023 at 9:28 am, I made an attempt contact Mr. Grassano to come to a resolution with these matters. He did not answer, and a voicemail was left with my contact information so he could return my call. Overnight he left a voicemail for me that started off with his concerns and then progressed into another direction stating things that were derogatory to Americans of Latin decent. Later this day it was discovered he had posted my contact information on his social media page stating it was a "fake" transit agency and his research proved the number belonged to a house of ill repute. Customer service Manager David Tamariz was able to contact Mr. Grassano, and made every effort to resolve the matter with Patron, however this quickly turned into another rant loaded with inappropriate slurs and references. He also repeated what he had posted on social media. UPDATE: All of Mr. Grassano's social media postings about this matter May 2023 F-3 I Page have been removed. We found no evidence of a Title VI violation. As of the closing of Mr. Grassano's multiple concerns, he has not contacted MV or posted anything about its services May 2023 F-4 I Page